Thales Communications, Inc., announces two awards for its AN/PRC-148 JTRS handheld radio by the Joint Program Executive Office Joint Tactical Radio System (JPEO JTRS) under the Consolidated, Interim, Single-channel, Handheld Radio (CISCHR) contract. These delivery orders will field almost 40,000 AN/PRC-148 JTRS Enhanced MBITRs (JEMs), as well as ancillaries, with an aggregate total contract value exceeding $128 million. The most recent JPEO award was on behalf of the U.S. Army and was the first delivery order for the U.S. Army under the CISCHR contract.

“The AN/PRC-148 JEM provides warfighters with the proven outstanding performance and features of the MBITR they have come to expect, combined with the advanced capabilities and upgrade potential of the JTRS Program,” said Walt Hepker, vice president of business development for Thales Communications. “The AN/PRC-148 radio continues to be the standard dismounted Type 1 portable radio for the U.S. Army.”

Thales AN/PRC-148 JEM (JTRS Enhanced Multiband Inter/Intra Team Radio) has a Software Communications Architecture-compliant platform that hosts all of todays key waveforms and ensures compatibility with the critical JTRS waveforms of the future. Further, the AN/PRC-148s programmable cryptography meets the requirements of the National Security Agencys crypto modernization program and is certified to protect the confidentiality of voice and data up through the Top Secret level. The only JTRS handheld radio to be designed, developed, and manufactured under a U.S. Department of Defense program of record, the AN/PRC-148 JEM has been tested, evaluated, and validated by the U.S. Government.

The AN/PRC-148 JEM is an evolution of the battle-proven AN/PRC-148 Multiband Inter/Intra Team Radio, or MBITR. The AN/PRC-148 is the smallest, lightest, and most widely-fielded tactical handheld radio in the world covering the 30-512 MHz frequency range. With the delivery of the AN/PRC-148 JEM radio, soldiers will benefit from the greater availability of this critical communications capability and from the radios commonality with the more than 55,000 AN/PRC-148 radios currently fielded with the U.S. Army. This unique commonality significantly minimizes changes to existing operational tactics, techniques, and procedures.

The AN/PRC-148, as well as ancillary equipment such as the dual radio AN/VRC-111 Vehicle Adapter Amplifier, is available to all U.S. Military services under JTRS CISCHR Contract Number N66001-7-D-0107.

About Thales

Thales Communications, Inc. (www.thalescomminc.com), is a leader in the development of battle-proven, software-defined, radio equipment and solutions. The company provides critical communication capabilities for use in size-, weight-, and power-constrained environments in the Tactical, Homeland Security, and Naval/Maritime domains throughout the globe. A U.S. proxy company (100% American), Thales Communications is part of the Thales Group of companies (www.thalesgroup.com), a leading international electronics and systems group, addressing defense, aerospace, and security markets worldwide. The Groups civil and military businesses develop a base of technologies to serve a single objective: the security of people, property, and nations. The Group employs 68,000 people in 50 countries with forecast 2007 revenues in excess of $15.8 billion.