Q. How long has Thales Communications been in existence and serving the warfighter?

Q. Who are Thales Communications’ customers?

Q. Are Thales Communications’ products made in the USA?

Q. What is the significance of the “proxy” company status?

Q. What is the status of the new Liberty™ Land Mobile Radio?

Q. Has the AN-PRC-148 JTRS Enhanced MBITR (JEM) gone through formal Government qualification? Is it SCA-certified?

Q. Is the AN/PRC-148 JEM NSA certified for Type 1 encryption?

Q. How many AN/PRC-148 radios have been deployed?

Q. What is CISCHR and what is Thales Communications providing under that contract?

Q. On which open contract vehicles does Thales Communications participate?

Q. Can Thales Communications’ technology be found in products manufactured by other companies?

Q. How do I access more technical information and firmware downloads for the AN/PRC-148 MBITR, the Thales 25 and the Naval / Maritime range of HF radios?

Q. How long has Thales Communications been in existence and serving the warfighter?

A. Thales Communications has been in existence since the early 1960’s. The company was incorporated as Racal Communications in 1964. In 2000, Racal became part of Thomson-CSF, and, in 2001, as part of a global change, our company's name became Thales Communications, Inc. The company’s technology and products have been serving the warfighter in the field since the Vietnam War.

Q. Who are Thales Communications’ customers?

A. Thales Communications serves the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. civilian agencies, and defense, allied, and coalition forces globally.

Q. Are Thales Communications’ products made in the USA?

A.  Yes.  Thales’ products, including the AN/PRC-148 system solution and Thales 25 portable radio, are manufactured at our Clarksburg, Maryland, and Germantown, Maryland, state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities.

Q. What is the significance of the “proxy” company status?

A. Thales Communications operates as a proxy-regulated company, free of foreign ownership, control, and influence. As such, it is considered a 100% American company by the U.S. Government, approved to work on the full spectrum of U.S. Government projects and positioned to support strategic partnerships in the development of key technologies for the defense market.

Q. What is the status of the new Liberty™ Land Mobile Radio?

A. The Liberty Multiband Land Mobile Radio (LMR), introduced in 2008 and FCC- certified in early 2009, is in pilot testing under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Multi-Band Radio Program. It has been in service at the Presidential Inauguration, Academy Awards, Kentucky Derby, and ongoing live burns. In late 2009, the Liberty radio successfully completed trunking interoperability testing and was certified by the Tait Radio Communications laboratory. For the most up-to-date information on Liberty, click here.

Q. Has the AN-PRC-148 JTRS Enhanced MBITR (JEM) gone through formal Government qualification? Is it SCA-certified?

A. Yes. The AN/PRC-148 JEM was the first JTRS radio to be certified by the JTRS Joint Program Executive Office for SCA compliance¹. It is the only Software Communications Architecture (SCA) certified handheld radio developed under a formal U.S. government program of record. The JEM has successfully passed the complete gauntlet of Government testing and evaluation, ensuring that the needs of the warfighter are met with a low-risk radio that not only incorporates a JTRS SCA architecture but has also been user-tested and qualified in operational field conditions. The government’s comprehensive testing included the Early Operational Assessment, Formal Qualification Testing, Government Development Testing, Government Operational Testing, Joint Interoperability Test Command Interoperability Testing, TEMPEST Testing, and National Security Agency (NSA) Certification.

¹with one waiver

Q. Is the AN/PRC-148 JEM NSA certified for Type 1 encryption?

A. Yes. The AN/PRC-148 JEM was the first SCA-certified JTRS radio to receive certification from the National Security Agency (NSA) to protect the confidentiality of voice and data through the Top Secret level.

Q. How many AN/PRC-148 radios have been deployed?

A. Nearly 200,000 AN/PRC-148 radios are deployed or on order.

Q. What is CISCHR and what is Thales Communications providing under that contract?

In 2007, the JTRS Joint Program Executive Office (JPEO), through the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) procurement authority, consolidated handheld radio purchases for the U.S. Department of Defense under the Consolidated, Interim, Single-channel, Handheld Radio)sup>1 (CISCHR) contract.  Thales Communications was awarded a firm, fixed price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) under CISCHR to provide the AN/PRC-148 JEM system to all services of the U.S. Military. System components include the AN/PRC-148 JEM radio, dual radio AN/VRC-111 Vehicle Adapter Amplifier (VAA), Base Station, and Accessories. Thales Communications was awarded several delivery orders in 2007 under this contract, including an order by the U.S. Army for almost 40,000 JEMs (and ancillary equipment).

¹JTRS CISCHR Contract Number N66001-7-D-0107. 

Q. On which open contract vehicles does Thales Communications participate?

A. Federal Supply Schedule (GSA Schedule) Contract No. GS-35F-0001L
    Department of the Interior Narrowband Radio Equipment Contract No. NBC030001

Q. Can Thales Communications’ technology be found in products manufactured by other companies?

A.  Yes.  Thales Communications provides its expertise for the development of products that exploit SDR technology. One example is the design and production of the VHF/UHF transceiver module used in the U.S. Air Force’s Combat Survivor/Evader Locator (CSEL) system. Thales Communications' VHF/UHF transceiver module provides the CSEL radio with its communications capabilities by combining a powerful software-defined architecture and a multi-mode satellite radio on one board slightly larger than a credit card. CSEL replaces line-of-sight radios with multimode satellite radios that allow for immediate communication with downed pilots (FLTSATCOM, COBRA, SARSAT, AM Ground-to-Air).

In July 2007, two U.S. Army pilots were rescued in Iraq after being shot down by insurgents. CSEL played a key role in this rescue.  Many stories appeared in the press about the story. Read one published on WGRZ.com (Gannett Broadcast Inc).

Another example is Tactical Automated Security System (TASS), a rapidly deployable, easily transportable, and quickly relocatable integrated electronic security system that can be tailored for a wide variety of semi-permanent, portable, and covert applications. TASS detects intrusions into protected areas, directs responding forces to the intruders, and assesses the strength and composition of the intruding force. TASS enhances the warfighters' capability for early detection and identification of threats to prevent damage or destruction of mission critical assets and facilitates the collection of critical intelligence information. TASS consists of five principal elements (data communications, annunciators, sensors, assessment devices, and power), two of which are provided by Thales Communications (communications and annuciators).

Q. How do I access more technical information and firmware downloads for the AN/PRC-148 MBITR, the Thales 25 and the Naval / Maritime range of HF radios?

A. Create a new Customer Center user account and request Technical Resource access for the appropriate product range, Tactical Communications, Public Safety/Homeland Security or Naval/Maritime click here  

For technical FAQs, sign in at our Customer Center and go to Technical Resources.