Accompanying Barrett’s handheld PRC-2080 radio, is the company’s PRC-2081 25W manpack. The radio has been engineered with demanding missions in mind with regards to its resistance to immersion and vibration © Barrett
This certification process is expected to take around five years, allowing the waveforms to be readied for use in the 2020 timeframe. Despite the advent of the ESSOR waveform, Thales will ensure that the new radios being procured as part of the Contact initiative (see above) will be able to handle the PR4G waveforms to ensure compatibility between the legacy and new radios. Part of the ESSOR waveform development initiative is using the JTNC (see above) Software Communications Architecture (SCA) 2.2.2 standard. The JTNC is part of the United States Department of Defence (DoD) and is tasked with publishing the software standards to which the radios being procured as a result of the JTRS programme must adhere. The development of the ESSOR waveforms to the SCA 2.2.2 standard should further help to assist interoperability between European ESSOR users and the radios and waveforms being procured as part of the JTRS programme in the US in the future (see below). These ESSOR waveforms are expected to become available in circa 2020; in time for entry into service on the new Contact radios. The logic of ESSOR is to provide several waveforms which can be used by France and other European nations to improve connectivity during multinational operations. Despite the PR4G family of radios eventually being replaced by the new radios procured by France as a result of the Contact programme, Thales is continuing
its support of the PR4G family until it leaves service. For example, in March 2014, the company unveiled a new ad hoc networking waveform to equip these radios. Operating in the UHF range, this waveform will be able to carry voice and data traffic at rates of between 2.3 to six megabits per second. Via a written statement, Thales told the author that this waveform is now in service with undisclosed customers in Europe and the Asia-Pacific regions.
the eventual full retirement of Clansman. The Bowman family includes the UK/PRC-354 VHF transceiver used for platoon level communications. A range of manpacks are also included based on Exelis’ (now Harris) manpack radios carrying the SINCGARS (Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System) waveform for use at the squad/platoon level. The designation for these manpacks differs according to their power output and role.
I Project Morpheus
The French Army’s British counterparts may also begin to receive new tactical radios in the coming decade. This June it was reported that the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence (MoD) is to commence consultations regarding the replacement of the Bowman communications system used across the British armed forces. Bowman can trace its lineage back to a 1989 UK MoD requirement to replace the Clansman radio. Clansman was in use between 1976 and 2010 and was constructed by Racal, Mullard Equipment and Plessey. Three classes of radios comprised the Clansman architecture allowing HF, VHF and UHF communications. Following a tortuous bidding process, General Dynamics won the contract to replace Clansman with Bowman. The latter gained its initial operating capability in 2004, before completing its roll-out in 2008, allowing
Barrett’s PRC2080 is a five watt handheld radio which can be employed at the squad level. This VHF radio has a range of up to eight kilometres (4.9 miles) and can be used either with the supplied headset or an optional tactical headset © Barrett
armada
2015/16 Tactical Radios Compendium
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