Boeing

Boeing [NYSE: BA] has completed a successful Airborne Maritime/Fixed Station Joint Tactical Radio System (AMF JTRS) Delta System Design Review (SDR) and a demonstration that highlighted the communications system's advanced network-centric capabilities.

The Delta SDR, held in Anaheim, Calif., measured the program against new government requirements that focus on an updated platform list and incremental capabilities. More than 50 senior government officials participated in the two-day review.

Boeing and its best-of-industry teammates -- Rockwell Collins, Harris, L-3 Communications, BBN Technologies, Northrop Grumman and Milcom Systems Corporation -- have supported the Pre-System Development and Demonstration phase since 2004. The U.S. Air Force is expected to award the design and development phase contract in early 2007.

Boeing's AMF JTRS communications system will provide warfighters with secure, software-defined radios that feature Internet-like capabilities, allowing them to communicate with one another in a network-centric environment in the air, on land and at sea. The system will bring secure networking to the battlespace, including the transmission and receipt of real-time text and voice information, as well as the ability to stream live audio and video, share maps, conduct networked meetings and use Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).

The Boeing team continues to develop the network design and is preparing for an updated Preliminary Design Review this fall.

"I am very pleased with the team's progress," said Boeing AMF JTRS Program Manager Leo Conboy. "The Delta SDR and networking demonstration are playing critical roles in bringing this robust networking capability to the warfighter as soon as possible. Networking is a key aspect of the JTRS program, and we are focused on maturing that capability."

The team provided a multi-node networking demonstration consisting of both virtual and hardware-based radios. The lab-based demonstrations featured the Wideband Networking Waveform (WNW), which enables Internet-like capabilities and is the backbone for airborne networking. The WNW, along with the core networking services being developed by the JTRS program, will field Internet Protocol networking using mobile ad-hoc networking for the warfighter. The demonstration also featured Boeing's Heterogeneous Networking capability with both legacy and edge networking, including Rockwell's Tactical Targeting Networking Technologies.