Extract
Waving in the right direction.
With the inception and proliferation of software-defined radios (SDR), a new pedigree of communication equipment has hit the shelves. And SDR innovation has bred a progeny of waveforms to cover every eventuality--although standardisation is pushing this overabundance of electromagnetic curves back into line. With today's current economic situation, it is no wonder that communication programmes and equipment sales continue apace, as now there certainly is something to talk about.
The military tactical radio world has remained energetic since Armada's previous examination ten months ago; the fact that the 2009 global demand on military communication systems has resulted in some $ 15.2 billion in business is one shining example. Our 2009 tactical radio guide provided an exhaustive overview of a large selection of the major tactical radios in production and the programmes underway around the world. This year our Compendium will examine new radios that have arrived on the scene, along with detailing the enhancements that have been rolled out across several existing tactical radio programmes and recent purchases of tactical radio systems by several countries around the globe. Meanwhile, major programmes such as the British armed force's Bowman communications infrastructure and the United States' Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS), both of which continue to move forward, will also be discussed. One such contract covering the supply of 32 manpack High Frequency (HF) radios was won by Barrett Communications of Australia, this from the Government of Papua New Guinea. These new radios are to replace the sets that had been purchased for use by the Papua New Guinea Defence Force during the so-called 'Bougainville Crisis' of the late 1980s/early 1990s. At that time the company was able to celebrate a double success; as it also received a contract in 2009 for the supply of its PRC-2040 HF manpack sets to the Government of Malaysia for civil defence use. Prior to this order, the 2040 sets were put through their paces to ensure that they would cope with Malaysia's climate--tests which included a trial in Malaysia's ultra-humid jungle regions. In fact, 2009 was a busy year for Barrett, at is also acquired Perth-based Q-Mac Electronics, which produces the VHF-90M and HF-90M series of tactical manpack and vehicular radios. The VHF-90M is a squad-level system with a one-km range, extendable to three kilometres with a tape whip antenna. The radio can also communicate between squads out to ten kilometres, again with a different antenna. Q-M...See the full content of this document
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