AN/PRC-154 Rifleman Radio
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Description
| Jointly developed and manufactured by Thales Communications and General Dynamics under the Joint Tactical Radio System Handheld, Manpack, and Small Form Fit (JTRS HMS) program, the AN/PRC-154 Rifleman Radio is a lightweight, body worn radio that transmits voice and data simultaneously utilizing the Soldier Radio Waveform. It brings secure (Type 2) squad-level communications to the soldier at the tactical edge of the battlefield network. The radio allows self-forming, ad hoc, voice and data networks and enables any leader at the tactical level to track individual soldier position location information, giving dismounted soldiers a much-needed situational awareness capability. The Rifleman Radio is a core component of the Army's Capability Set 13, which provides network components, associated equipment, and software that will, for the first time, deliver integrated voice and data capabilities to soldiers at the tactical edge. | ||
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December 2012
Thales received a Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) contract for secure radios to support the U.S. Army's Nett Warrior Program. This Nett Warrior Radio is capable of providing soldiers with access to the government's classified networks at the Secret or Sensitive But Unclassified level. The award is for 2,052 Nett Warrior radios and associated ancillaries. Half of the radios will be produced by General Dynamics, and half will be produced by Thales Communications at its Clarksburg, Md., headquarters facilities. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in the first quarter of calendar year 2013. For more information, see our February 19, 2013, press release. August 2012 Thales announced that the U.S. Army awarded the second Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) contract for Rifleman Radios. Thales and General Dynamics are each responsible for producing 50 percent of all LRIP Rifleman Radios. With this latest award for 13,000 radios and associated ancillaries, the Army has procured more than 19,000 Rifleman Radios. For more information, see our September 17, 2012, press release. March-May 2012 The Army's 2nd Brigade 1st Armored Division used the Rifleman Radio in Network Integration Evaluation (NIE) 12.2. The radio performed extremely well in an operational environment, delivering a robust voice and data network to the tactical edge of the battlefield. February 2012 COL John Zavarelli, JTRS HMS Program Manager, discusses the Rifleman Radio and HMS Manpack in a videotaped interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoidnmS3Q34 Referring to the dismounted soldier, he says, "...a game-changing capability that will allow him to conduct his mission more effectively, he will have more survivability, and likely be able to be more lethal because of what the radio allows him to do with either voice or data communications." January 2012 The AN/PRC-154 Rifleman Radio, the "soldier radio of the future", completed an operational assessment by the US Army's 75th Ranger Regiment in Afghanistan. In what was its first combat use, the radio successfully demonstrated how networked communications and situational awareness can improve mission effectiveness. Brigadier General Michael Williamson, Joint Program Executive Office, Joint Tactical Radio System (JPEO JTRS), indicated that the Rangers spent a lot of time using the radios and "clearly had a significant level of confidence" in the system. Soldiers of the 75th Ranger Regiment liked the size, weight, and transmit range of the Rifleman Radio, which typically provided a battery life of up to 10 hours and increased the units' ability to communicate despite obstacles such as buildings and rugged terrain. The Army has also ordered Thales's Modular Universal Battery Charger (MUBC) for future co-deployment with its AN/PRC-154 Rifleman Radios. The Thales MUBC is a multi-bay, scalable, portable (mounted and dismounted) system designed for use in forward operating base environments. It charges a wide range of military and commercial batteries, including the AN/PRC-154 Rifleman Radio and the Thales AN/PRC-148 JTRS Enhanced Multiband Inter/Intra Team Radio (JEM). See the MUBC page on this website for more information. August 2011 On August 3, 2011, Thales announced the award by prime contractor General Dynamics C4 Systems for Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) of the AN/PRC-154 Rifleman Radio. Developed as part of the Joint Tactical Radio System Handheld, Manpack, and Small Form Fit (JTRS HMS) program with General Dynamics, the Rifleman Radio is a lightweight, networking, body-worn radio designed to extend the tactical network down to the lowest echelons--the dismounted individual soldier. June 2011 In June, the JTRS HMS program received a Milestone C decision from the U.S. Department of Defense, which authorized the Army to procure up to 6,250 Rifleman Radios. Following that decision, General Dynamics received an LRIP contract for 6,250 Rifleman Radios, which will be manufactured by both Thales Communications and General Dynamics. By design, the JTRS HMS System Design and Development and LRIP contract efforts will yield two qualified production sources. This provides the Government with robust competition from multiple qualified sources for full rate production. |
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