Contact: Josh Davidson, PEO C3T: 443 395 8299, joshua.b.davidson.civ@mail.mil
ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. (Nov. 26, 2012) -- The U.S. Army has released a Request for Information (RFI) for the Handheld, Manpack, Small Form Fit (HMS) Manpack radio.
The RFI, released Nov. 21 by the Program Executive Office for Command, Control and Communications-Tactical (PEO C3T), initiates a full and open competition for the Full Rate Production (FRP) phase of the Manpack program.
The RFI reaches out to current and new industry partners for information to support potential future procurements of HMS Manpack radios in Fiscal Year 2013 and beyond. The Army is also conducting a full and open competition for the HMS Rifleman Radio, a strategy intended to increase competition, decrease costs and provide the most effective communications solutions to the Soldier.
"We're excited to partner with industry to further advance our current communications capabilities," said Col. Russ Wygal, the Army's project manager for tactical radios. "The Manpack enhances mission command capabilities for our Soldiers by connecting troops on the front lines to real-time information through the Army's tactical communications network."
The RFI is the latest step forward for the HMS Manpack program, after an Oct. 11 decision by the Department of Defense granted the Army approval for a second Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP2) order. To date, the Army has purchased 3,826 of the two-channel, software-defined radios, which are designed to allow lower-echelon Soldiers carrying Rifleman Radios and Nett Warrior handheld devices to connect to the network backbone through the Soldier Radio Waveform (SRW) and Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System (SINCGARS) waveforms.
The LRIP2 decision was based on test results from the Network Integration Evaluation (NIE) 12.2, held in May-June at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., as well as a Government Developmental Test conducted by the Army Test and Evaluation Command, held in October at the Electronic Proving Ground at Fort Huachuca, Ariz. The NIEs are a
series of semi-annual, Soldier-driven evaluations designed to integrate and mature the Army's tactical network.
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