U.S. Army awards new contract for next-generation radios

French multinational defense firm Thales announced on Wednesday that it has received an order increase for more than 7,000 Combat Net Radios (CNR) for the U.S. Army.

As noted by the company, the U.S. Army has ordered more than 7,000 Thales RT-2129 Combat Net Radios (CNR) based on the Improved Multiband Inter/Intra Team Radio (IMBITR) technology, demonstrating the service’s continued confidence in Thales’ ability to deliver next-generation radios for the Army’s network modernization effort.

As a fully software-defined communications solution, the Thales CNR ensures interoperability with the legacy Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System (SINCGARS) waveform, as well as enables the Army to quickly add improved waveforms to address evolving requirements. The RT-2129 CNR is a critical component to the Army’s unified network providing robust communications capabilities to the tactical edge.

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The Thales CNR, built around the battle proven AN/PRC-148 handheld family of radios, provides the Army a crypto modernized tactical radio solution. The flexible software-defined solution enables the Army to seamlessly replace the legacy RT-1523 fleet of mounted and dismounted radios.

“The Combat Net Radio continues Thales’ tradition of being responsive to emerging needs in support of the warfighter with a next-generation radio that uses existing training, installation kits and system integration to ensure mission readiness,” said Mike Sheehan, CEO, Thales Defense and Security, Inc. “The CNR is designed to easily integrate into the Army’s Integrated Tactical Network and operate reliably under the most extreme conditions.”

Under this award, Thales will deliver more than 7,000 RT-2129 Tactical Secure Voice Crypto Interoperability Standard (TSVCIS) compliant radios. To date, the Army has ordered more than 8,100 CNRs.

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