The Joint Tactical Radio System Handheld, Manpack, Small Form Fit (JTRS HMS) Program successfully achieved Milestone C two months ahead of schedule, a critical acquisition milestone authorizing the first Low Rate Initial Production lot of Rifleman and Manpack radios, program officials said.
“This milestone marks an important step for the core capability we will be providing the individual soldier, marine, airman and sailor. The increased situational awareness created by the HMS radios will significantly improve our warriors’ lethality and survivability,” said Brig. Gen. Michael Williamson, the Joint Program Executive Officer (JPEO) for JTRS.
General Dynamics [GD] leads the JTRS HMS team, which includes BAE Systems, Rockwell Collins [COL], and Thales Communications.
“The Rifleman radio, enabled by the Soldier Radio Waveform, will be the first secure tactical radio to extend the network down to the individual soldier, significantly improving their safety and mission effectiveness,” said Chris Brady, a vice president of General Dynamics C4 Systems. “JTRS HMS radios are a critical link to networking leaders and soldiers at every echelon of command, in any formation across the Army.”
The June 17 Acquisition Decision Memorandum granted authority to JPEO JTRS to enter the HMS program production and deployment phase. The decision authorizes the Army to first procure a Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) lot of up to 6,250 Rifleman Radios and up to 100 Manpack Radios.
HMS is an integral component of the Army Network Integration Exercise going on now at Ft Bliss, Texas and White Sands Missile Range, N. M. The radios are part of the effort to bring communications to the tactical edge.
HMS Program Manager Col. John Zavarelli said: “HMS radios bring state-of-the-art wide-band networking and satellite communications to tactical units. This transformational networking capability will contribute to building dominant small units.”
JTRS HMS is a key to building the ground-level lower tactical network, bringing the most disadvantaged unit, the small unit down to the individual Joint warfighter, into the network, the JPEO JTRS office said in a statement. HMS radios provide the means to conduct voice, data, image, and video communication securely between the individual warfighter and their team leader, leading to more efficient command and control of the battlefield. HMS capability allows critical information to be exchanged in a way that was previously unavailable, empowering warfighters with increased information to outmatch enemies and ensure more successful operations.
The milestone decision, occurring two months ahead of the program schedule, was based on several years of industry and government teamwork, officials said. Additionally, HMS demonstrated the maturity of the Rifleman Radio during recent key events, including a successful Verification of Corrected Deficiencies in February and a successful Rifleman- Manpack Radio network architecture test in March.