Navy Digital Modular Radios get software upgrade from General Dynamics
NewsFebruary 06, 2015
FAIRFAX, Va. Digital Modular Radios (DMR) for the U.S. Navy are getting upgrades for General Dynamics that are add high-frequency dynamic routing (HFDR) software to turn the four channels of the radio into eight virtual channels.
General Dynamics new high-frequency virtual channel exploitation software expands the radio's communications capacity to 16 virtual channels when it is operating in the high frequency (HF) line-of-sight and ultra-high frequency (UHF) satellite communications frequencies.
The upgrades give the Navy four-times more capacity for secure HF communications without needing to add additional hardware or changing the configuration in the tight spaces of shipboard radio rooms. Navy personnel began equipping surface and subsurface ships and a number of land-based locations with the DMR nearly 20 years ago, and there are currently 500 secure, four-channel DMR radios supporting Navy operations worldwide.
General Dynamics engineers are also looking at ways to integrate the new Mobile User Objective Systems (MUOS) waveform into the DMR radios. The waveform is the digital dial tone necessary for connection to the U.S. military's new narrowband MUOS satellite communications system. Once the MUOS network is operational, Navy personnel will then experience voice clarity, global reach, and connection speeds similar to what they get with their personnel cellphones.
