US Army awards vehicular SRW IDIQ contracts

The US Army has issued indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contracts to four companies as part of its programme to extend the Soldier Radio Waveform (SRW) to vehicular appliqué systems. Harris Corporation, Exelis, General Dynamics C4 Systems and Thales Defense and Security will compete for orders on the programme which has a potential value of $988 million.

The appliqué will host SRW, a waveform 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) vehicular radio installations.

The Harris SRW appliqué systems consist of a Falcon III wideband radio and small form factor wideband power amplifier. The systems provide seamless connections between soldiers, their command centres and higher headquarters. They deliver vehicular-based voice, video and data communications for enhanced situational awareness and command and control. Harris previously announced initial orders from the US Army for the appliqué system in 2012. 

Exelis will offer the SideHat, a radio specifically developed for the vehicular electromagnetic and physical environment experienced on the battlefield. Exelis designed SideHat to easily integrate with SINCGARS, the primary tactical communications backbone for the US Army with nearly 600,000 fielded. SINCGARS with SideHat and SRW provides a system solution with up to four-channels (2 SRW and 2 VHF). It provides dismounted soldiers the ability to communicate both voice and data to mounted soldiers in vehicles within a larger network.  

Thales and GDC4S have yet to confirm the solutions they will offer for the programme.

The US Department of Defense said that six bids were received for the contract. The estimated completion date is April 8, 2024.