Modernised LINK 16 Capabilities for US and International Customers
Viasat announced in late July that in May it received a six-year Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (ID/IQ) contract valued at up to $85.5 million for Block Upgrade 2 (BU2) hardware and software upgrades and support services to its Multifunctional Information Distribution System-Low Volume Terminal (MIDS-LVT) LINK 16 radio sets. The order is the result of a sole-source procurement through the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) in California and adds modernised LINK 16 communications capability for US Army, Navy, Marines and selected Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers. Initial delivery orders under the contract total $22 million.
“Viasat is extremely pleased to receive this sole source award to deliver enhanced LINK 16 capability to US and allied forces,” observed the company’s President, Government Systems, Ken Peterman. “This order reflects the US government’s commitment to maintaining the long-term viability of MIDS-LVT radios deployed worldwide, which will ensure continued tactical data link capability and interoperability with LINK 16-equipped platforms and warfighters into the future.”
LINK 16 provides real-time situational awareness and jam-resistant communications across hundreds of air, sea, and ground platforms in nearly fifty coalition countries, offering true interoperability and real-time exchange of battlespace information, increasing mission effectiveness and operator safety.
MIDS-LVT forms the backbone of the LINK 16 network across DoD and the international coalition. BU2 capabilities ensure that MIDS-LVT terminals remain interoperable with platforms that use other modernised LINK 16 terminals, such as the MIDS Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) family of terminals and Viasat’s Small Tactical Terminal and Handheld LINK 16 radios, which are enabling new concepts of operation and warfighter tactics throughout the international defence community.
