Boeing, Lockheed enter home stretch in massive contest to improve connectivity aboard thousands of US aircraft
Competition for the airborne portion of the US Joint Tactical Radio System programme is entering its final stages, with rival Boeing- and Lockheed Martin-led teams expecting to submit final proposal revisions by the end of January.
The airborne and maritime/fixed station (AMF) JTRS programme will develop internet-capable, software-programmable radios for use in thousands of aircraft, as well as for land and sea applications.
Working under pre-system development and demonstration contracts to reduce risk, Boeing and Lockheed have tested prototypes of the small form-factor JTRS radio planned for aircraft. They submitted bids for the 50-month SDD programme last March and expect the US Air Force to award a contract by March 2008.
Initial AMF JTRS capabilities will include the internet-based wideband networking waveform, the soldier radio waveform to communicate with handheld radios, and the Link 16 tactical datalink. Adding the MUOS next-generation UHF satellite communications waveform is an early option.
Boeing's team is leveraging its work on the US Army-led JTRS ground mobile radio (GMR) now in the final stages of development. "Making key architecture choices to match GMR allows us to leverage software at lower cost," says Rick Baily, Boeing vice-president C3 networks. "We maximise software reuse."
After protracted development, Boeing's GMR is on the third iteration of the security architecture required for stringent US National Security information-assurance certification. "The basic core architecture is the key thing to pull across [to AMF]," says Baily. "Then we can do early hardware and software integration."
Lockheed's team is "putting the platform first", says Glenn Kurowski, AMF JTRS programme manager. The radios are intended for use on more than 100 different platforms, requiring different combinations of waveforms. "The platform integrator's interest is in size, weight, power, RF characteristics and automation," he says.
The team is leveraging technology from other programmes, including the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, and "showed the maturity of the hardware" in prototype flight tests in late 2006, he says. Although some reuse of JTRS software waveforms is planned, Kurowski says the team now has "third- and fourth-generation" algorithms.
After budget and schedule overruns, the JTRS programme was restructured in 2005 to reduce its scope, and Boeing's performance on the GMR could be a crucial factor. Baily says its team would be finishing development of the GMR as the AMF programme ramps up, allowing it to use experienced engineers.
Boeing is teamed with Harris, L-3 Communications and Rockwell Collins, while Lockheed's team includes BAE Systems, General Dynamics and Raytheon. Different divisions of Northrop Grumman are also on each team.
Source: Flight International
