General Dynamics systems selected by US

General Dynamics has announced that two of its communications systems, the General Dynamics C4 Systems JTRS HMS Rifleman Radio (AN/PRC-154) and the General Dynamics Itronix GD300 wearable computer, have been selected to deploy to Afghanistan with the US Army 75th Ranger Regiment later this month. If the products perform effectively during planned operational assessments they are being considered for roll out to the US Army as a whole.

General Dynamics made the announcement in a 23 January 2012 company statement, saying that the capability provides ‘unprecedented communication and situational awareness that changes how soldiers fight’.

According to the statement, the Rangers are equipped with the Rifleman Radio for intra-squad communications and with the GD300, running the Tactical Ground Reporting (TIGR) tactical 'app,' to send text messages, situation reports and other information to individual solders.

The JTRS HMS programme office and the Ranger Regiment decided to conduct the operational assessment following three separate successful evaluations in 2011.  The Rifleman Radio is part of the Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) Handheld, Manpack, Small Form Fit (HMS) radio family.

The JTRS HMS Rifleman Radio provides reliable networked voice and data communications in austere and cluttered urban environments using the government's Soldier Radio Waveform (SRW).  The General Dynamics GD300 is an Android-based, full-rugged, wrist or body-worn computer.  When paired with the Rifleman Radio, the GD300 displays the position-location information of all soldiers in the network. Soldiers can also use the GD300 touch-screen display to place pictorial graphics and send maps to team members or their leaders using the TIGR 'app.'