DOD orders MIDS JTRS radio systems from ViaSat and Data Link Solutions

SAN DIEGO, Calif., April 11 2012. The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) has placed a $31.5 million delivery order with ViaSat and a $25.8 million delivery order with Data Link Solutions for Multifunctional Information Distribution System Joint Tactical Radio Systems (MIDS JTRS), which were recently approved for full production and fielding. The MIDS JTRS is a 4-channel radio that has been certified by the U.S. National Security Agency and is designed to run the Link 16 waveform and up to three additional communication protocols, including the Airborne Networking Waveform (ANW). The terminal can also host and provide the necessary computer processing to run routing and vehicle specific applications. 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.

Security for the MIDS JTRS is provided by the ViaSat designed Crypto Sub-System (CSS) embedded in the terminal. The CSS is a programmable crypto module based on the multi-channel PSIAM commercial off-the-shelf component design that can be programmed to perform Type 1 cryptographic functions.

MIDS JTRS has obtained initial operational capability (IOC) on the Navy and Marine Corps F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, the U.S. Air Force E-8C Joint Surveillance and Target Attack Radar System (STARS) aircraft, and the Air Force RC-135 Rivet Joint surveillance aircraft.

The first MIDS JTRS terminal was delivered to the Naval Air Wareface Center (NAWC) in June 2009, where it was used for developmental flight testing on an F/A-18. The first limited production order for MIDS JTRS terminals was less than a year later, in January 2010.

Work on these two contracts is expected to be finished by February 2014. The work will be performed in Carlsbad, Calif.; Melbourne, Fla.; Gilbert, Ariz.; Wayne, N.J.; Cedar Rapids, Iowa and other sites in the U.S.