Pentagon budget 2022: Handheld, manpack radio procurement accelerated under spending blueprint

Pentagon officials are escalating investments in procurement and continued development of its family of handheld and manpack radio systems, setting aside USD803 million for those efforts in the ground service’s fiscal year 2022 (FY 2022) budget request.

The FY 2022 funding request is USD236 million above the USD567 million department officials called for in acquisition, research and development funds for the two-channel Leader radio, Single-Channel

Data Radio (SCDR) and Manpack radios under the service’s Handheld, Manpack, and Small Form Fit (HMS) radio programme. As envisioned, the radio platforms under the HMS programme provide expeditionary voice and data communications, with both line of sight and beyond the line of sight capability, for static formations as well as units on the move, the documents said.

“The radio systems are software reprogrammable, networkable, multi-mode systems capable of . . . [supporting] a variety of other platforms, including tactical end user device voice and data needs,” according to the documents. “The HMS provides tailorable and scalable software-defined radio systems to meet the communication needs of the U.S. Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and Special Operations Command,” it added. HMS radios programme saw the largest increase in requested funds in army coffers in FY 2021, with a proposed procurement funding line of USD551 million, according to budget documents from that fiscal year.

If approved, the FY 2022 requested funds will allow programme officials to procure Leader, SCDR and Manpack radios to outfit five US Army Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs), budget documents state. The funding would also support “follow on testing of the [Leader] and [Manpack] products to demonstrate compliance with program requirements to assess effectiveness, suitability, and survivability,” the documents added.