ITT Exelis [XLS] said it received National Security Agency (NSA) certifications for its SideHat and the Soldier Radio-Rifleman (SR-R) radios.

These certifications allow the radios to operate up to the SECRET level and be fully integrated into the Army’s tactical communications network. 

For example, that means the SR-R radio could compete for future Rifleman Radio contracts, Tim White, ITT Exelis spokesman, told Defense Daily.

Currently, General Dynamics [GD] and Thales are the qualified suppliers of Rifleman Radios.

The Rifleman Radio is a software-defined handheld radio that provides the individual soldier with reliable, low-weight, high-capacity intra-squad voice and data communication in a self-forming and self-healing network.

The SideHat radio hosts the Army standard Soldier Radio Waveform (SRW) that operates in the UHF and L-Band frequency ranges and provides an affordable second channel solution to Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio Systems (SINCGARS) radios installed in vehicles. The Exelis SideHat is also specifically designed for the vehicular electromagnetic and physical environment delivering increased range compared to other solutions.

SideHat is designed to easily attach to SINCGARS, the Army’s primary tactical communications backbone. SINCGARS with SideHat provides a system solution with up to four-channels–two SRW and two VHF.  It provides dismounted soldiers the ability to communicate both voice and data to mounted soldiers in vehicles within a larger network.  

SideHat has successfully completed multiple operational tests including Command, Control, Communications Computer, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) On-The-Move (OTM) at Fort Dix, N.J., the Air Assault Expeditionary Force and Army Expeditionary Warrior Experiment at Fort Benning, Ga., the Bold Quest Exercise at Camp Lejeune, N.C., and the Network Integration Exercises at White Sands Missile Range, N.M.

“These certifications by the NSA of both the SideHat and Rifleman radios allows us to continue the Exelis tradition of providing value and cutting-edge solutions to the warfighter,” said Nick Bobay, the president and general manager of Exelis Night Vision and Tactical Communications Systems. “With SideHat, we can leverage the Army’s large installed base of SINCGARS radios while adding a significant increase in operational capability at an affordable price point.”

White said, “SideHat would be easily adaptable to almost all modern SINCGARS radios—and there are several hundred thousand of them.”