SINCGARS

SINCGARS stands for "Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System." It's supposed to provide U.S. military commanders with a reliable, secure, easily maintained Combat Net Radio (CNR) that handles voice and data.

It directly provides internet access to battlefield units, a capability called "Tactical Internet" (TI). It also has direct interfaces for GPS and tactical computer systems. It is the real hardware behind much of the new U.S. intiative to modernise and automate the battlefield. The U.S. military calls this programme "Task Force XXI[?]" because they hope it will bring them into the 21st century. The most recent requirements document is for March 2, 1992; The original specification dates from 1974.

SINCGARS operates in the VHF miltiary radio band, from 30 to 88 MHz.

SINCGARS is modular to have commonality among ground and airborne systems. The manpack and vehicular radios use the same receiver-transmitter. It meets NATO interoperability requirements. The system divides its 58 MHz of range into 2320 channels. It's supposed to survive in a nuclear environment, which specifically includes operation within electromagnetic pulse envelopes.

SINCGARs maintains communications security (COMSEC) by the KY-57 (sometimes called the VINSON device). SINCGARS uses a type of spread spectrum called frequency hopping to resist jamming and to lower the probability of interception by hostile forces.

SINCGARS is replacing the incrementally-improved Korean-war and Vietnam-war-era crystal-controlled radios (AN/PRC-77 and AN/VRC-12[?]). An aircraft radio SINCGARS is in production, and is phasing out the current air-to-ground radios (AN/ARC-114[?] and AN/ARC-131[?]).

Because it uses modern digital technologies, SINCGARS is rapidly improving, using commercial microcircuitry for mobile phones. The U.S. has an "active improvement" program to encourage the vendor(s) to reduce the size and weight of SINCGARS.

Timeline:

• 11/1983 ITT wins the contract for the first type of radio, for ground troops.
• 5/1985, ITT wins the contract for the airborne SINCGARS.
• 7/1988 General Dynamics wins a second-source contract for the ground radio.
• 4/1989 ITT reaches "Milestone IIIB": full-rate production.
• 12/1990 1st Division is equipped.
• 12/1991 General Dynamics wins the "Option 1 Award" for the ground radio.
• 3/1992 ITT wins a "Ground and Airborne" award.
• 8/1993 General Dynamics achieves full rate production.
• 4/1994 ITT and General Dynamics compete for the ground radio.
• 5/1994 ITT wins a sole-source contract for the airborne radio.

External Links

• www.fas.org: SINGLE CHANNEL GROUND and AIRBORNE RADIO SYSTEM (SINCGARS) (http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/sincgars.htm)]

• www.monmouth.army.mil: FISCAL YEAR 1997 COMMAND, CONTROL, COMMUNICATIONS, COMPUTERS, INTELLIGENCE, ELECTRONIC WARFARE AND SENSORS (C4IEWS) PROJECT BOOK (http://www.monmouth.army.mil/prjbk97/index.html)