The Army April 9 awarded Exelis Inc., [XLS], General Dynamics [GD], Harris [HRS], and Thales Defense & Security Inc., the chance to bid on orders from a potential total $988 million firm-fixed-price indefinite delivery indefinite quantity contract to add networking to existing brigade combat team radio-equipped vehicles.
The four companies will each bid on Army orders for the Soldier Radio Waveform (SRW) Appliqué Radio Systems. The IDIQ contract, issued by Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen, Md., has five base years and five option years and runs over a decade until April 8, 2024.
Photo: U.S. Army
The Army’s primary tactical backbone is the vehicle-mounted Single Channel Integrated Ground and Airborne Radio System (SINCGARS). The SRW Applique radios will add voice and data to the network.
General Dynamics will be offering Rifleman Radio AN/PRC-154A with the Sidewinder applique in a solution that allows soldiers to “jerk and run” with the radio leaving the vehicle, while the amplifier and radio mount remain in place.
Exelis will initially offer the Sidehat radio, which easily integrates with the SINCGARS. Sidehat with SRW offers four channels, two SRW and two VHF. Elexlis developed the SRW waveform that operates in the UHF and L-Band frequency range.
Harris is likely to bid Harris Side Falcon radio, which integrates the Falcon III AN/PRC-152A radio with a small wideband power amplifier, increasing range and reliability. The Side Falcon supports SRW as well as the Harris Adaptive Networking Wideband Waveform ANW2 as well as VHF/UHF Line-Of-Sight, HaveQuick Integrated Waveform.
Thales Defense & Security will offer its Vehicle Integrated Power Enhanced Rifleman, or VIPER, a vehicle mounted SRW radio extending the operational range of the SRW network by providing 20 Watts of amplification. VIPER also provides “jerk and run” for soldiers, with access to an installed AN/PRC-154 or AN/PRC-154A Rifleman Radio.
Rifleman Radio is jointly developed and manufactured by Thales and General Dynamics.
VIPER is jointly developed by Thales and Ultralife.