MIDS JTRS software-defined radio terminal gets DOD go-ahead for full production and fielding
SAN DIEGO, 10 April 2012. U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) officials have approved the Multifunctional Information Distribution System Joint Tactical Radio System (MIDS JTRS) terminal for full production and fielding.
MIDS is a secure, jam-resistant digital radio that provides Tactical Air Navigation (TACAN), Link-16, and J-Voice to aircraft, ships, and ground forces. The MIDS JTRS software-defined radio is a JTRS-capable version of MIDS designed to be a form, fit, and function replacement for earlier-model MIDS terminals, which provide information and situational awareness via data and voice within the JTRS network.
Officials of the Joint Program Executive Office for the Joint Tactical Radio System (JPEO JTRS) in San Diego approved the MIDS JTRS for full production April 4 in an acquisition decision memorandum.
Two companies manufacturer the MIDS JTRS -- ViaSat Inc. in Carlsbad, Calif.; and Data Link Solutions Inc. in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, which is a joint venture of the BAE Systems Electronic Systems segment in Wayne, N.J., and Rockwell Collins in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
MIDS JTRS is a software-defined networking terminal certified by the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) at Fort Meade, Md. MIDS JTRS is certified with the Link-16 waveform and equipped with Link-16 enhanced throughput (ET) and Link-16 frequency remapping (FR), as well as three additional channels for future waveforms that fighting forces need.
MIDS JTRS soon attain initial operational capability (IOC) on the Navy and Marine Corps F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighter-bomber; the U.S. Air Force E-8C Joint Surveillance and Target Attack Radar System Joint-STARS) aircraft, and air Force RC-135 Rivet Joint surveillance aircraft.
"The DOD now has a MIDS JTRS terminal that meets warfighter needs and provides a growth path for next generation networking waveforms for airborne, ground, and maritime warfighting,” says Navy Capt. Scott Krambeck, the MIDS program manager.
The JTRS is a developing and open-architecture of software-defined radios and radio waveforms that enable several different radio types to interoperate. Waveforms refer to the software that gives JTRS radios their functionality.
For more information contact the JPEO JTRS online at www.public.navy.mil/jpeojtrs, ViaSat at www.viasat.com, or Data Link Solutions at www.datalinksolutions.net.
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John Keller | Editor
John Keller is editor-in-chief of Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine, which provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronic and optoelectronic technologies in military, space, and commercial aviation applications. A member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since the magazine's founding in 1989, Mr. Keller took over as chief editor in 1995.
