[General Dynamics Handheld, Manpack and Small Form Fit (HMS) radios enable communication while on-the-move using 802.16 wireless technologies.]

General Dynamics' Handheld, Manpack and Small Form Fit (HMS) radios will enable communication between tactical vehicles while they are on-the-move. The Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) Wideband Networking Waveform and 802.16 wireless networking technologies are bringing the added capability. The software makes the radios suitable for communicating large amounts of information and for on-line collaboration between moving vehicles. General Dynamics C4 Systems, currently under contract to deliver the HMS radios to the U.S. Department of Defense, is demonstrating the radios' vehicle-borne communications capability at the MILCOM 2008 military communication forum. Recognized for attracting key decision-makers and innovators, MILCOM continues today in San Diego, Calif.

The demonstration shows HMS radios meeting battlefield networking requirements by:

-- embedding waveforms, like the Wideband Networking Waveform (WNW) and IEEE 802.16 or "WiMAX' wide-area networking, to provide the needed bandwidth and spectrum range to facilitate communication between tactical vehicles while they are moving;

-- rapidly increasing the radios' mission scope by enabling communication between vehicles and soldiers on the ground.

"Demonstrating WNW and 802.16 for advanced, high-speed networking places HMS in a class by itself for performance and efficiency," said Chris Brady, vice president of Assured Communications Systems for General Dynamics C4 Systems.

HMS radios are designed to meet all JTRS waveform-compliance, interoperability and security standards. The first HMS radios will be in warfighters' hands in early 2010.

Other HMS radios are currently in user tests to prove their effectiveness in close-combat tactical communication, including the Rifleman radio in use by the U.S. Army's Evaluation Task Force at Fort Bliss. The Rifleman radio mirrors the Small Form Fit-C (SFF-C) Version 1 of HMS with additional radio controls and its own power supply.

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