The Department of Defense (DoD) has selected Rockwell Collins to help build its mobile user objective system (MUOS) airborne communications capabilities in a wide range of naval vessels. The five-year, indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract will establish satellite-communications (satcom) radio equipment and support onboard fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft, carrier ships, and ground installations. The contract is for sixth-generation ARC-210 RT-2036(C) radios, as well as well as ancillary equipment, associated data, and services. The contract, which is through the U.S. Navy’s Naval Air Command (NAVAIR), begins with a base award of $82.6 million in 2018, followed by four option years.
“This is the next big step in arming warfighters with next-generation communications capabilities, including those available through MUOS, which brings greater overall capacity and signal quality for high reliability when it’s needed most,” said Troy Brunk, vice president and general manager, Communication, Navigation and Electronic Warfare Solutions for Rockwell Collins.
The ARC-210 RT-2036(C) radios use MUOS networks to provide voice, video, and data over a secure IP-based communications system. The sixth-generation radio features a software-defined-radio (SDR) architecture with high-speed mobile ad hoc networking and beyond-line-of-sight (beyond LOS) connection capabilities. More than 45,000 ARC-210 RT-2036(C) radios are currently in use around the world on more than 180 different fixed and mobile platforms.
