CAPITOL HILL: Several defense giants battled today over $500 million in 2013 funding for a radio program as the House defense policy bill headed to the floor. The fight centered on two versions of the Joint Tactical Radio System, the Mid-Tier Networking Vehicular Radio MNVR (son of GMR) and the HMS tactical radio. Company lawyers… Keep reading →

A mobile Army command-and-control system called “WIN-T Increment 2” set up for testing at Aberdeen Proving Grounds. Army Seeks New Network Tech For New Brigades’ Post-Afghanistan Missions The U.S. Army is shrinking, but its appetite for new network technology is only going to grow. Though the military has invested massively in digital infrastructure over its… Keep reading →

The Army’s attempt to reboot its troubled Ground Mobile Radio program has hit yet another snag, with accusations that the revised requirements omit a crucial capability to protect soldiers’ signals from enemy jamming and accidental interference. As a result, wrote defense analyst, consultant, and AOL contributor Loren Thompson in a recent blog post, “soldiers dependent… Keep reading →

Washington: After a series of successful flight tests in New Mexico last week, a version of the Joint Tactical Radio System could be back in the Army’s arsenal as soon as next fiscal year. An airborne version of the Lockheed Martin-built radio, known as Airborne/Maritime Fixed JTRS, flew several test flights aboard the Army’s newest… Keep reading →

Washington: Just weeks after the Army canceled the JTRS Ground Mobile Radio system, the service is rushing to test a number of industry prototypes during the Network Integration Exercises at White Sands Missile Range. Army officials have already picked the Harris-built Falcon III wideband radio as the interim replacement for the GMR system, Dennis Moran,… Keep reading →

Washington: The Army is giving a version of the Joint Tactical Radio System one more shot at becoming part of its new networking strategy, weeks after terminating a separate version of the next-generation radio. An airborne JTRS variant built by Lockheed Martin is set to fly next week as part of the Army’s latest Networking… Keep reading →

Washington: Time has officially run out on the Army’s Joint Tactical Radio System. The Army will release its proposals request for a new handheld network radio to industry next month, the service’s top uniformed acquisition official Lt. Gen. Bill Phillips said. Army and Pentagon officials decided to nix the Boeing-built JTRS Ground Mobile Radio earlier… Keep reading →

Washington: The Marine Corps is eyeing a wide range of systems to augment the service’s radio network, thrown into doubt by the Army’s recent decision to cancel its main ground radio. These potential replacements are based on current communication systems, modified “on the battlefield” by combat units deployed in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere, James Craft,… Keep reading →

Washington: The Army is looking for industry solutions to close unexpected gaps in its new combat network system. In a notice sent out to defense firms late last week, Army officials ran down the litany of “capability gaps” uncovered as part of the service’s effort to build a new communications network for its ground units.… Keep reading →

Washington: The Army needs a new way to connect soldiers on the battlefield, and it doesn’t care how it gets there. The service is taking a “platform agnostic” approach to the way it is carrying out its new network strategy, a senior Army program official told me yesterday during the U.S. Army Association’s annual symposium… Keep reading →