The US Army is to upgrade its helicopter fleet with the Raytheon-built RT-1987 radio, the first such upgrade since 2005.

At a demonstration at the Redstone Arsenal Engineering Lab in Huntsville, Alabama, US, the radio interfaced with the multiple flight management systems that control the radio and provide status updates to aircrew.

The fleet consists of Chinook, Apache and Black Hawk aircraft.

"The RT-1987 is designed to address the US Government’s data security requirements and works seamlessly with legacy communications systems."

Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems business integrated communications systems vice-president Scott Whatmough said: "This demonstration proves that the Raytheon radios work with the legacy system and enable greater data sharing and increased security."

The newest member of Raytheon’s SkyFire family of software-defined radios, the RT-1987 is designed to address the US Government’s data security requirements and works seamlessly with legacy communications systems, simplifying installation and saving millions in integration costs.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData

Tick here to opt out of curated industry news, reports, and event updates from Army Technology.

Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

It features modern cryptography capabilities designed to offer data security and seamless support of the mobile-user objective system (MUOS) satellite communications network, providing more than ten times the capacity of the older system it replaces.

The equipment upgrade is backward compatible with current equipment installations, which will help minimise platform modifications, simplify installation and reduce costs.

Developed for rotary and fixed wing, as well as manned and unmanned aircraft, the SkyFire radio family implements the software communication architecture (SCA), making it easy to port a waveform from the government repository.

In addition, the radios support several additional capabilities, including the new soldier radio waveform (SRW) that was demonstrated to the army in 2013.