US Space Force increases efforts to plug training capabilities gaps
The service has been seeking simulation and emulation solutions capable of reproducing multiple in-orbit threats.
General Dynamics C4 Systems has announced that it has received a new order from the US Army for an additional 13,000 Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) Handheld, Manpack, Small Form Fit (HMS) AN/PRC-154 Rifleman radios and accessory kits. The order, worth $53.9 million, was announced 14 August 2012.
This latest order beings the number of radios ordered by the US government to more than 19,000. According to GDC4S, both the JTRS HMS PRC-154 Rifleman and two-channel AN/PRC-155 Manpack networking radios are planned for inclusion in the army's Capability Set 13, which is to be delivered to Infantry Brigade Combat Teams beginning in October 2012. This aims to deliver a package of network components, associated equipment and software to soldiers, enabling networked voice and data capabilities to reach the tactical edge, even while units are moving across the battlefield.
The PRC-154 Rifleman radio enables soldiers on the battlefield to have mobile voice, video and data communications capabilities similar to those available through commercial cellular networks. The two-channel PRC-155 Manpack radio is the only JTRS radio to successfully demonstrate all three transformational government waveforms: the Soldier Radio Waveform, the Wideband Networking Waveform and the Mobile User Objective System satellite-communications waveform. It is also interoperable with legacy waveforms including SINCGARS. According to GDC4S, these capabilities ‘will keep the two-channel PRC-155 Manpack radio relevant for decades to come’.
The service has been seeking simulation and emulation solutions capable of reproducing multiple in-orbit threats.
The service has been conducting several acquisition and upgrading efforts involving artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve communication, data analysis and ISR systems.
The Syracuse 4B communications satellite, developed by Airbus and Thales Alenia Space, was launched last year, bolstering secure military satellite communications for the French Armed Forces. Thales has now been selected to provide terminals for vehicles.
The growing importance of space in modern warfare, advancements in satellite technology, and increasing threats from rivals like China and Russia were among the topics of a Eurosatory 2024 panel on military space operations.
AN/ARC-232A is a Starfire radio that provides VHF/UHF communications to airborne platforms and the transceiver is software-programmable, allowing for multiple waveform support as well as optional national electronic counter counter-measure (ECCM) capability.
During the 18-month period of the contract, Lockheed Martin will apply Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) techniques to create surrogate models of aircraft, sensors, electronic warfare and weapons within dynamic and operationally representative environments.