29 May 02. Harris Corporation (NYSE:HRS), announced that it has implemented a JTRS-compliant (Joint Tactical Radio System)voice waveform on a fielded, software-defined radio platform and successfully conducted on-air interoperability demonstrations of its capabilities.
The Harris demonstration radio, called the JTRS manpack testbed radio (JMTR), is based on the company’s Falcon II AN/PRC-117F(C) software-defined radio platform. The JTRS Joint Program Office (JPO) has demonstrated the JMTR capabilities to government and industry audiences. Harris will be hosting its own JMTR demonstrations during AFCEA TechNet, June 11-13, in Washington, D.C.
The JMTR on-air demonstration is unique because it illustrates Harris’ ability to validate the JTRS Software Communications Architecture (SCA) for battery-powered radio platforms. The SCA is a specific set of rules, methods, and design criteria for implementing software reprogrammable digital radios, and will become the basis for all future DoD tactical radio acquisitions.
“Since our AN/PRC-117F(C) is a software-defined radio and has been fielded for a number of years, we were able to readily modify its capabilities for the JTRS JPO under the JTRS Step 2B contract and design an on-air demonstration model,” said Jim Hausknecht, vice president, North American Business Development, for Harris’ RF Communications Division. “The JMTR utilizes our proven on-air
transmission technology to illustrate the SCA, including core framework and security requirements.”
The JTRS JPO awarded Harris a JTRS Step 2B contract extension last year to develop and validate a lightweight version of the latest SCA V2.2 to address the unique demands of battery-powered platforms. Harris is using its Sierra reprogrammable information security module to validate the SCA security requirements. Sierra is targeted as a fully JTRS-compliant security solution across a broad set of radio domains and can be programmed with a variety of encryption algorithms, including Type 1 for U.S. Government classified traffic.