Harris Corp. and Thales Defense and Security are the winners of a $4 billion contract to purchase the Army's handheld, manpack and small-form fit (HMS) Rifleman Radio.
Under the agreement, each vendor will produce 50 radios, which then will undergo laboratory tests to determine if threshold requirements have been met, according to an Army release. If the vendor meets qualifications, its radios will move a subsequent operational evaluation phase. If the vendor fails to meet qualifications, the vendor will be off-ramped. Vendors that are found to be qualified through testing will then compete to fill delivery orders on an as-needed basis.
"By working closely with our requirements and contracting teams, these contract awards are a critical step in moving closer toward full rate production of the Rifleman Radio. Using the nondevelopmental item strategy, we are hoping to procure superior radios at lower costs, relying on a competitive, innovative radio marketplace," COL Jim Ross, Army project manager tactical radios, said in a released statement. "These radios are key in closing the information gap on the battlefield."
The indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract, awarded under a "radio marketplace" strategy, has five base years and five option years. With each new generation, the Army plans to procure radios with better capabilities, including faster processors, increased power and battery life and decreased weight.
Pending delivery of vendor supplied radios are slated to begin qualification evaluations this summer and fall, according to an Army spokesman. Operational tests of qualified radios will begin in 2016, with full rate production fielding scheduled to begin in fiscal 2017. Eventually, 172,000 radios could be fielded.
The lightweight, hand-held radio transmits voice and data past terrain obstacles and beyond line of sight via the Soldier Radio Waveform (SRW), and is carried by soldiers at the platoon, squad and team levels. The radio uses the SRW to transmit information up and down the chain of command, as well as into the network backbone provided by the Warfighter Information Network-Tactical (WIN-T). The radio can also be linked to the Nett Warrior, using a secure Android phone-type device that enables soldiers to send messages, access mission-related applications and track each other's locations with GPS technology.
No comments:
Post a Comment