PacStar wins contract for Expeditionary Signal Battalion-Enhanced program

The Army has awarded PacStar a contract to deliver communications equipment to support the Expeditionary Signal Battalion-Enhanced program, the company announced yesterday.

PacStar will deliver its 400-Series modular platform "to enhance agile and reliable tactical communications for the expeditionary-style warfare units increasingly relied upon by [the Defense Department’s] organizations," according to its press release.

The 400-Series platform will provide units with lightweight communications equipment like the PacStar 463 Radio Gateway, 128 GB RAM and viral routing.

PacStar did not disclose how much the contract is worth.

The ESB-E, a more agile version of the ESB, supplies uninterrupted mission command and reduces reliance on Warfighter Information Network equipment.

The program "supports the Army’s modernization effort to unify the network by providing assured network transport in congested environments," the press release states. "The ESB-E's tactical network communications support will enable a more lethal, mobile and hardened joint and coalition force, helping the Army retain overmatch against increasingly capable adversaries."

The service in 2018 selected Ft. Bragg, NC, as its ESB-E pilot unit, according to a 2019 Army press release.

The Army's Program Executive Office for Command, Control and Communications-Tactical and the Network Cross-Functional Team are working together to provide prototype, commercial off-the-shelf equipment for the ESB-E program.

The service is using soldier feedback to inform ESB-E network design and is scheduled to start fielding ESB-E capability sets by 2021, according to the Army press release.