ViaSat to provide upgraded radio communications in MIDS JTRS contract from Navy
Posted by John Keller
SAN DIEGO, 17 Jan. 2010. ViaSat in Carlsbad, Calif., will provide the U.S. Navy with limited-production Multifunctional Information Distribution System Joint Tactical Radio System (MIDS JTRS) terminals under terms of a $14.4 million contract from the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) in San Diego.
MIDS JTRS is a military radio communications initiative to make the MIDS terminal comply with the JTRS Software Communications Architecture (SCA). The upgrade will enable MIDS terminals to support existing radio communications waveforms, as well as JTRS-compliant waveforms.
The idea is to bring MIDS military communications terminals into the software defined radio era to support integrated navigation, identification, voice and data, information security, networking, and networked applications to meet military software-defined radio requirements.
With MIDS JTRS upgrades, MIDS terminals will be able to support Link 16 and TACAN functions, as well as three 2 MHz to 2 GHz programmable channels to enable warfighters to use several different JTRS waveforms, including the Wideband Networking Waveform (WNW).
Improvements will involve Link 16 enhanced throughput, Link 16 frequency re-mapping, and programmable crypto. ViaSat will do the work in Carlsbad, Calif.,and will be finished by the end of this year.
For more information contact SPAWAR online at http://enterprise.spawar.navy.mil or ViaSat at www.viasat.com.
