F/A-18C Hornet aircraft, United States. (US Navy)
US Navy (USN) officials have reached a five-year deal with combat communications company L3Harris to procure its Multifunctional Information Distribution System Joint Tactical Radio System (MIDS JTRS) terminals, with a total value of nearly USD1 billion, according to a 25 November company announcement.
The MIDS JTRS, which will enable USN warships to employ cross-domain Link 16 tactical datalink communications, will be one of two variants fielded by the sea service. Currently, the US Department of Defense (DoD) fields three variants of the MIDS JTRS: the Concurrent Multi-Netting-4, the Tactical Targeting Network Technology, and the variant flown aboard the US Air Force (USAF) F-22 Raptor.
The four-channel MIDS JTRS radio is deployed aboard the navy's F/A-18 Hornet as well as the USAF's F-15 Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon, along with the F-22 Raptor. It is capable of operating the Link 16 waveform, along with various other communication protocols such as the Airborne Networking Waveform, simultaneously.
The USD998 million indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (ID/IQ) MIDS JTRS deal in November comes months after navy leaders inked a USD998 million pact with L3Harris in June, this time for the “production, retrofits, development, and sustainment” of MIDS JTRS terminals. That deal covered development for not only the system variants fielded by the navy but also those in service with the USAF, “as well as purchases for NATO and all NATO nations under the FMS [Foreign Military Sales] program”, according to the 24 June contract.
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