WAYNE, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Data Link Solutions (DLS), a joint venture between BAE Systems and Rockwell Collins, has been awarded a $51.8 million contract from the U.S. Navy Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command to provide the Multifunctional Information Distribution System Joint Tactical Radio System (MIDS JTRS) to U.S. and coalition forces. This award includes radios for U.S. platforms and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers.
“This award reflects our strong past performance meeting terminal deliveries and our commitment to providing the best value to our U.S. and allied forces,” said Jack Stevens, director at DLS. “This contract underscores DLS’s leadership in Link 16 airborne networking and provides the latest in certified, reprogrammable, software-defined radio architecture for tactical data links.”
This MIDS JTRS Lot 4 award represents a significant majority of the Lot 4 competition and marks a substantial increase in terminal orders and deliveries, as the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force begin transitioning multiple platforms to MIDS JTRS. MIDS JTRS enhances battlefield communications for joint and coalition warfighters by providing the ability to communicate by voice, video, and data with a line-of-sight, jam-resistant capability across ground, air, and naval assets.
“With this award, DLS will have a major ramp up in MIDS JTRS production,” said Doug Schmidt, director at DLS. “This production boost allows increased manufacturing cost savings that are then passed on to our customers, making new advanced data link technologies more affordable.“
Work will be performed in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Wayne, New Jersey, and is expected to be completed August 2017.
About Data Link Solutions
DLS was established in 1996 by two
of the world leaders in military communications, Rockwell Collins and
BAE Systems, to pursue next-generation Link 16 applications. DLS is a
leading supplier of Link 16 terminals and software, as well as logistics
and support services for air, land, and sea-based platforms. The company
has a heritage of more than 25 years of Link 16 design and production
experience, with more than 6,500 Link 16 systems delivered worldwide.
DLS has provided MIDS terminals for more than 40 different platforms in 38 countries. Product offerings include the Joint Tactical Information Distribution System (JTIDS) Class 2 family, the MIDS Low Volume Terminal (MIDS-LVT) and MIDS-LVT-3 Fighter Data Link, the MIDS-LVT-2, the MIDS-On-Ship, the URC-138 Link 16 terminal, TacNet™ Tactical Radio, and various country-unique data links. DLS is the only company to provide all MIDS-LVT variants including the Fighter Data Link and the MIDS-LVT-2/11 and has added MIDS JTRS to its offerings.