Thales Communications, Inc. has completed the delivery of multiple orders for its new 50-watt dual vehicular adapter/power amplifier to the U.S. Air Force‘s Tactical Air Control Party Modernization Office (TACP-M) at Hanscom Air Force Base.

The Air Force procured more than 700 50-Watt AN/VRC-111 Vehicle Adapter Amplifiers (VAAs), which is a two-channel system with software-defined radio flexibility. It provides 50 Watts of power in the 30 to 88 MHz frequency range and 20 Watts of power in the 90 to 512 MHz frequency range. As part of these orders, Thales also delivered more than 200 of its 20-Watt AN/VRC-111 systems, which provide 20 Watts of power across the full 30 to 512 MHz frequency range.

Each VAA incorporates two AN/PRC-148 JTRS Enhanced Multiband Inter/Intra Team Radios1 (JEMs) and provides the unique capability of rapid, cable-free radio dismount in less than two seconds. Shifting between mounted and dismounted operations with no loss in communications is critical to TACP survival.

Most of the VAAs will be installed in TACP’s new Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles and in their already-fielded AN/GRC-206 communications pallets, where they will be used as an interim replacement for existing legacy radios. These new systems will provide a much more robust communications link. TACP will utilize these systems in conjunction with the U.S. Army to control the air war.

“The TACP community has been turning to us for a long time for essential communications products that do what they are designed to do,” said Ray Bruhn, Business Development Manager for Air Force Programs at Thales Communications. “With these procurements, TACP is leveraging their existing investment in the AN/PRC-148 system.”

With more than 150,000 units deployed, the AN/PRC-148 is the most widely-fielded, tactical handheld radio in the world. It will serve warfighters far into the future by enabling the integration of advanced capabilities, like new waveforms, increased data rates, tactical networking, and situational awareness, via simple software upgrades.

About Thales Communications, Inc.

Thales Communications, Inc. (www.thalescomminc.com) is a global leader in the development of battle-proven, software-defined, radio equipment and solutions. The company serves the ground, naval, airborne, and homeland Security domains with tactical electronic equipment and information systems that address the technological and environmental challenges presented in real-world situations—especially those with size, weight, and power constraints. A U.S. proxy company (100% American), Thales Communications is part of Thales, a leading international electronics and systems group, addressing defense, aerospace, and security markets worldwide. Thales’s leading-edge technology is supported by 22,000 R&D engineers who offer a capability unmatched in Europe to develop and deploy field-proven mission-critical information systems. To this end, the group’s civil and Military businesses develop in parallel and share a common base of technologies to serve a single objective: the security of people, property and nations. The group builds its growth on its unique multi-domestic strategy based on trusted partnerships with national customers and market players, while leveraging its global expertise to support local technology and industrial development. Thales employs 68,000 people in 50 countries with 2007 revenues in excess of $18 billion.