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ViaSat Awarded $60 Million Defense Modification Contract |
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CARLSBAD, Calif., Dec. 29/Satnews Daily/ ¾ ViaSat Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT) has received a contract worth about $60 million from the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR), San Diego, to modify a system that gathers data and provides digital views of battlefields.
ViaSat said the Engineering Change Proposal modification and corresponding delivery order is for the development of a Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) compliant version of the Multifunctional Information Distribution System (MIDS) terminal.
ViaSat has received an initial delivery order funding increment of $11 million to begin development planned for approximately the next six months. The undefinitized contract modification and delivery order are anticipated to be finalized during this six month period, including provisions for the design, development and qualification of MIDS JTRS Terminals.
Under the deal, ViaSat will modify the military's low-volume multifunctional information distribution system into a four-channel, joint tactical radio unit that facilitates communication and is interchangeable for the Navy and Air Force.
JTRS is a programmable radio technology that contributes to the new "network-centric" vision of the military by enabling a variety of military wireless communications devices to easily communicate with each other.
The objective of the MIDS JTRS program is to transform the current MIDS LVT (Low Volume Terminal) into a four-channel, Software Communications Architecture (SCA) compliant JTRS, while maintaining current Link-16 and tactical air navigation system (TACAN) functionality. MIDS gathers data from multiple sources and displays a digital view of the battlefield.
"We're extremely pleased with this development program," said Paul Baca vice president of Tactical Data Links at ViaSat. "JTRS is an essential element of our military's evolution to network-centric operations. The MIDS JTRS program will provide a timely, economical means to upgrade the many platforms and users with MIDS LVT terminals to the future of tactical data networking."
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