Thales offers software upgrade to give AN/PRC-148 JTRS-capable handheld radios long-distance capability

CLARKSBURG, Md., 1 Nov. 2011. The AN/PRC-148Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) Enhanced Multiband Inter/Intra Team Radio (MBITR), or JEM, from Thales Communications Inc. in Clarksburg, Md., has received Joint Interoperability Test Command (JITC) certification for the Ultra High Frequency (UHF) satellite communications (SATCOM) Integrated Waveform (IW).This waveform, available as a software upgrade, enables users to communicate long distances using handheld radios, which frees troops in the field from carrying heavy, manpack tactical radio systems, Thales officials say. The Thales AN/PRC-148 JEM radio software upgrade can provide users with increased voice quality, higher data throughput, and increased command and control capability.UHF SATCOM enables users to operate globally on-the-move and under severe weather conditions and cluttered ground cover. SATCOM IW (MIL-STD-188-181C, 188-182B, and 188-183B) offers a significant increase in capacity over legacy Demand Assigned Several Access (DAMA) SATCOM. The SATCOM IW waveform uses Time Division Several Access (TDMA) methods, and Mixed Excitation Linear Predictive (MELP) voice encoding to improve voice quality.For more information contact Thales Communications online at www.thalescomminc.com.