Radio competition reaches final stretch.

• Author: Insinna, Valerie
• Position: COMMUNICATIONS

* Companies competing for the Mid-Tier Networking Vehicular Radio have one more test before the Army awards a contract this year.

A decision will likely be announced in May after a demonstration in Ft. Huachuca, Ariz., in early 20.13, said Chris Ager, director of networked communication systems for BAE Systems.

"We're required to have five radios out and operating, and then a couple of spares," he said. "There will be some integration and training of the military and government people who will be operating them, and then they'll go out and run the test scenarios."

The Army is requiring the radios to run two software components of the joint tactical radio system--the wideband networking waveform (WNW) and soldier radio waveform (SRW).

General Dynamics, Raytheon and Harris Corp. are also expected to bid for the contract.

BAE Systems tried out its Phoenix-2C radio last fall at a Network Integration Evaluation 13.1 excursion. The radios used both the WNW and the SRW waveforms, Ager said.

"We tested the radios communicating with each other as well as with other JTRS radios, and in our view it was very successful. We were able to communicate with our radios at...