Army seeking radios for manned-unmanned teaming

By Ashley Tressel / January 15, 2019 at 11:06 AM

The Army is requesting information from industry on radios to support manned-unmanned teaming of air and ground platforms, according to a recent notice.

The service desires systems that would work on ground vehicles and while being transported by soldiers. The radios "must not rely on existing [radio frequency] infrastructure (i.e. cellular networks, Wi-Fi networks, etc.) but can leverage commercial technologies in an ad-hoc manner through modification [or] enhancement," a Jan. 4 market survey states.

Manned-unmanned teaming in this circumstance is "loosely defined as controlling a robotic platform from a mounted or dismounted position, as well as the ability to collaborate between multiple air and ground platforms."

The service's Next Generation Combat Vehicle cross-functional team, along with the Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Command and the Space and Terrestrial Communications Directorate, will hold an experiment in June at Joint Base McGuire Dix Lakehurst, NJ, in which select vendors may have the chance to participate.

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