[SatNews] ViaSat Inc. (Nasdaq:VSAT) has been awarded a Full Production and Fielding (FP&F) order valued at $31.5 million for...

...Multifunctional Information Distribution System Joint Tactical Radio System (MIDS JTRS) terminals for the U.S. government. The award resulted from a competitive procurement through the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR). The order was awarded under the MIDS Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity contract initially executed in March 2010. The MIDS JTRS terminals are for F/A-18E/F, E-8C Joint STARS, and RC-135 Rivet Joint aircraft. MIDS JTRS is a joint development of ViaSat and Data Link Solutions and provides a migration path from the MIDS-LVT to a certified, reprogrammable, software-defined radio architecture for tactical data links. The terminal has completed contractor and government qualification testing, and received the following certifications: p>

• Software Communications Architecture (SCA) compliance
• Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) certification
• Joint Interoperability Test Command (JITC) certificationv
• NSA security certification

MIDS JTRS adds three programmable channels to the legacy Link-16 and TACAN capabilities of the MIDS-LVT. The three new channels are designed to host future advanced airborne networking waveforms. MIDS JTRS is “plug-and-play” backward compatible with MIDS-LVT so it can easily replace the MIDS-LVT, but remain interoperable.