Navy chooses Raytheon to provide data link radio cryptography modernization for JSOW smart munitions
PATUXENT RIVER NAS, Md. – U.S. Navy airborne weapons experts needed modernized cryptography for a tactical data link radio designed to keep smart munitions on target. They found their solution from the Raytheon Technologies Corp. Missiles & Defense segment in Tucson, Ariz.
Officials of the Naval Air Systems Command at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md., announced a $10.2 million order to Raytheon Wednesday for the cryptographic modernization of the Tactical Air Command Network 1.0 and 1.1 weapon data link radio for the Navy AGM-154C-1 Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW).
Raytheon will provide non-recurring engineering for integrating the modified Cryptographic Modernization Tactical Air Command Network 1.0 data link radio onto the AGM-154C-1 missile.
The AGM-154 JSOW is a medium range precision guided glide bomb to attack defended targets from outside the range of standard anti-aircraft defenses.
Related: Raytheon hardening SDB II smart munitions against electromagnetic jamming and cyber attack
The Collins Aerospace segment of Raytheon Technologies in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, designs and manufacturers the TacNet weapon data link to make guided weapons into network-enabled weapons. The weapon data radio provides weapon tracking, fire control, and situational awareness.
The TacNet uses Link 16 and UHF waveforms to enable weapon inflight communications and controller handoff for smart munitions; provide inflight updates, retargeting, and abort functions; syncs with tactical networks in less than 12 seconds; and passive network sync to enhance performance in anti-access and area denial (A2/AD) environments.
The Collins Aerospace TacNet uses industry-standard interfaces to reduce integration and life cycle costs, as well as advanced NSA Type 1 programmable crypto to adapt to future threats.
On this order Raytheon will do the work in Tucson, Ariz., and should be finished by August 2022. For more information contact Raytheon Missiles & Defense online at www.rtx.com.
John Keller | Editor-in-Chief
John Keller is the Editor-in-Chief, Military & Aerospace Electronics Magazine--provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronics and optoelectronic technologies in military, space and commercial aviation applications. John has been a member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since 1989 and chief editor since 1995.
