The Army Nov. 21 released a Request for Information (RFI) for the Handheld, Manpack, Small Form It (HMS) Manpack radio.
The RFI issued by the Program Executive Office for Command, Control and Communications-Tactical (PEO-C3T) kicks off a full and open competition for the Full-Rate Production 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.
Responses are due Dec. 12 with feedback on the draft Statement of Objectives, draft Performance Requirements Document, draft Statement of Work, Performance Based Logistics only, and a questionnaire.
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, the PEO C3T office said in a statement.
Col. Russ Wygal, Army project manager for tactical radios, said, “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 program, after an Oct. 11 Defense Department decision granting the Army approval for a second Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP) order.
To date, the Army has purchased 3,826 of the two channel, software-defined radios, which are designed to allow lower echelon soldiers with Rifleman Radios and Nett Warrior handheld devices to connect to the network backbone through the Solider Radio Waveform (SRW) and Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System (SINCGARS) waveforms. The radio must also include a legacy ultra-high frequency satellite communications waveform, and be able to transmit position location information.
The LRIP 2 decision was based on test results from the Army’s Network Integration Evaluation (NIE) 12.2 held 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.