The
General Dynamics Mission Systems’ two-channel AN/PRC-155 MUOS-Manpack
radio has successfully provided voice and data communications with on-orbit
Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) satellites during a recently concluded
government test of the MUOS satellite network. The demonstration was
part of an Army conducted customer test with the AN/PRC-155 MUOS-Manpack
radio running terrestrial waveforms – the Soldier Radio Waveform
and the Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System waveform –
simultaneously with the MUOS waveform. The demonstration, paired with
Navy MUOS operational tests, will help determine if the MUOS waveform
is ready for operational use across the services. |
The Lockheed
Martin-built MUOS satellite communications network is the new global
communications network for secure, smartphone-like voice clarity and
robust data communications for U.S. Department of Defense and government
personnel. The AN/PRC-155 Manpack radio is currently fielded to the
U.S. Army and is a communications hub connecting Army personnel to the
Warfighter Information Network – Tactical (WIN-T) and other local
and wide area military communication networks.
“As part of the Handheld, Manpack and Small Form Fit (HMS) family,
the PRC-155 Manpack is the only Army-fielded radio available to the
U.S. today,” said Mike DiBiase, a vice president and general manager
of General Dynamics Mission Systems. “These radios connect the
new MUOS network, bridging lower-tier tactical networks like the soldier
radio waveform and SINCGARS radios to the big Army network, reaching
back to Army personnel located in the most austere locations.”
The General Dynamics PRC-155 MUOS-Manpack radio is equipped with a high-power
amplifier that provides the radio-signal strength needed to reach the
MUOS satellites that are in geo-synchronous orbit above the Earth’s
equator. Using both channels, the PRC-155 is the bridge that connects
different radios and waveforms used by soldiers across a mission area.
The PRC-155 MUOS Manpack receives a call from a tactical radio on one
channel, routes and retransmits the call using the second channel, sending
the call to a satellite communications network, like MUOS or other tactical
communications network.
There are currently 5,326 PRC-155 Manpack radios fielded to the Army
providing secure line-of-sight and satellite communications connectivity
for Army personnel deployed in places where other communication networks
are unavailable or inaccessible. |
