The Joint Program Executive Office Joint Tactical Radio System (JPEO JTRS) recently said the Ground Mobile Radio (JTRS GMR) system was certified by the National Security Agency (NSA) on March 23.
The GMR radio system implements the Wideband Networking Waveform (WNW), Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System (SINCGARS), and the approved Joint WNW Network Manager (JWNM).
The GMR program, under development by Boeing [BA], was canceled a little over a week later as of March 31, the JPEO JTRS office said. However, the Defense Department directed the program complete the NSA certification of the radio so the JTRS program could leverage that work, and certification, with the follow-on Non-Developmental Item (NDI) effort referred to as the Mid-Tier Networking Vehicular Radio (MNVR) program.
This certification from the NSA met a significant requirement that was directed by the Defense Acquisition Executive (DAE) in his October 2011, GMR Program Acquisition Decision Memorandum (ADM).
NSA certification allows the Army to use JTRS GMR in an operational classified network.
Additionally, this achievement enables the Department of Defense to harness years of investment and technological progress associated with the GMR development on future non-developmental item (NDI) efforts. This is not only a major accomplishment for the program, but also a milestone achievement for NSA.
JTRS GMR is the first NSA Type 1 certified voice and data, synchronized multiple channel route and retransmission capable, mobile ad hoc network system, which also simultaneously operates at Multiple Single Levels of Security.
This certification validates the vision of the multi-channel, multi-level security, software definable/programmable radio from concept and design, to successful fielding. Further, the certification of JTRS GMR lays a strong foundation for a new generation of Mobile Ad Hoc Network (MANET) type Waveforms, which addresses one of the most significant and influential software defined radio (SDR) design challenges–tactical network security.