Software-defined radio contract for U.S. Army could net companies as much as $6 billion over decade
NewsMay 02, 2022
ARLINGTON, Va. The U.S. Army recently awarded an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (ID/IQ) contract for its new Combat Net Radio (CNR) modernization project to L3Harris Technologies (Rochester, New York) and Thales Defense Security (Clarksburg, Maryland).
The CNR -- a single-channel voice and data radio -- is inteded to phase out aging Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System (SINCGARS) radios across all service components, field HMS Manpack and Leader tactical data radios, and modernize the services' cryptographic devices.
Lt. Col. Sherida Whindleton, Product Manager for Waveforms, assigned to Project Manager Tactical Radios, said that the CNR project's software-defined capabilities will support the new, resilient waveforms that are either in development or under consideration as part of the U.S. military's drive toward communications modernization.
Following completion of initial test and NSA certification, the Army will field its first CNR equipped unit in FY24; the overall CNR contract ceiling is $6.1 billion, with orders enabled against this contract until March 2032.
