Army Awards Vehicle Radio Deal Worth up to $140.7 Million

The Army awarded Harris Corp. a $140.7 million contract for a vehicle radio designed to link infantry platoons and companies with higher headquarters.

The mid-tier networking vehicular radio, or MNVR, runs government-owned software waveforms developed under the now-defunct joint tactical radio system project and adopted by Harris and other vendors for use in their radios. BAE Systems, General Dynamics C4 Systems and a  team of Northrop Grumman and ITT Exilis submitted bids on the contract for up to 5,000 vehicle radios in an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity procurement the Army launched in February 2012.

The Army immediatly placed a task order with Harris valued at $8.4 million for up to 232 vehicle radios for test and integration. The Harris radios run the broadband data Wideband Networking Waveform and voice and low data rate Soldier Radio Waveform, software that defines bandwidth, modulation and frequency range.

 “With MNVR, information collected at the farthest tactical edge can be quickly shared across the network, enabling our soldiers to communicate effectively for any mission in any region,” Col. Gregory Fields, the Army’s project manager for the vehicle radio said. “By using a competitive approach to acquire mature technology that meets this need, we will deliver a more affordable, more capable radio to our forces.”

The Soldier Radio Waveform is intended for use in both backpack and handheld Rifleman radios. Last month, the Army kicked off a procurement to buy 193,279 Rifleman Radios.