The General Dynamics Mission Systems' two-channel AN/PRC-155 MUOS-Manpack radio has successfully provided voice and data communications with on-orbit Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) satellites during a recently concluded government test of the MUOS satellite network.

The demonstration was part of an Army conducted customer test with the AN/PRC-155 MUOS-Manpack radio running terrestrial waveforms - the Soldier Radio Waveform and the Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System waveform - simultaneously with the MUOS waveform. The demonstration, paired with Navy MUOS operational tests, will help determine if the MUOS waveform is ready for operational use across the services.

The Lockheed Martin-built MUOS satellite communications network is the new global communications network for secure, smartphone-like voice clarity and robust data communications for U.S. Department of Defense and government personnel. The AN/PRC-155 Manpack radio is currently fielded to the U.S. Army and is a communications hub connecting Army personnel to the Warfighter Information Network - Tactical (WIN-T) and other local and wide area military communication networks.

"As part of the Handheld, Manpack and Small Form Fit (HMS) family, the PRC-155 Manpack is the only Army-fielded radio available to the U.S. today," said Mike DiBiase, a vice president and general manager of General Dynamics Mission Systems. "These radios connect the new MUOS network, bridging lower-tier tactical networks like the soldier radio waveform and SINCGARS radios to the big Army network, reaching back to Army personnel located in the most austere locations."

The General Dynamics PRC-155 MUOS-Manpack radio is equipped with a high-power amplifier that provides the radio-signal strength needed to reach the MUOS satellites that are in geo-synchronous orbit above the Earth's equator. Using both channels, the PRC-155 is the bridge that connects different radios and waveforms used by soldiers across a mission area.

The PRC-155 MUOS Manpack receives a call from a tactical radio on one channel, routes and retransmits the call using the second channel, sending the call to a satellite communications network, like MUOS or other tactical communications network.

There are currently 5,326 PRC-155 Manpack radios fielded to the Army providing secure line-of-sight and satellite communications connectivity for Army personnel deployed in places where other communication networks are unavailable or inaccessible.