General Dynamics Chooses Altera for Landmark Transformational JTRS Radio Technologies
General Dynamics C4 Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics, chose Cyclone II and MAX II devices for multiple applications critical to the U.S. Department of Defense’s Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) Cluster 5 design. General Dynamics selected Altera® programmable logic devices (PLDs) during the program’s component selection phase for use in handheld, manpack, and other small form-factor radios specified under the JTRS Cluster 5 program. Altera is a member of the team awarded the U.S. Department of Defense’s $295 million System Development and Demonstration contract in July 2004.
Altera’s versatile Nios II processors and the high-performance digital signal processing (DSP) capabilities of its FPGAs are designed to shorten development time, reduce costs, and meet JTRS Cluster 5’s stringent power consumption requirements. Using programmable logic will enable General Dynamics to integrate a high degree of functionality into a small physical space, which reduces weight, form factor, and power consumption. In addition, the flexibility of Altera’s programmable solutions enables rapid engineering of advanced functions in shorter time than alternatives like digital signal processors and ASICs.
As part of the component selection phase, Altera demonstrated that its commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) Cyclone II and MAX II devices met the technology and low power requirements necessary for JTRS Cluster 5 equipment. The low power consumption of Altera’s Cyclone II and MAX II devices will contribute to longer operating times for Cluster 5 radio users in the field. The decision to use COTS devices allows General Dynamics to leverage leading-edge technologies and the economies of scale enjoyed by commercial products.
Cluster 5 of the JTRS program will transform joint service operations by providing communication flexibility and adaptability to fighting forces. By delivering three different device types—power-efficient manpack, handheld and small-form-factor applications – the program will meet future warfighting needs for decades to come. As many as 14 applications or form factors could be called for under the contract, each driven by an advanced radio core the size of a credit card.
Currently, joint military deployments require the services to rely on many makes, models, and types of radios, and few of them communicate seamlessly with others. The JTRS program plans to replace the traditional hardware radios currently deployed with devices that can emulate any radio’s capabilities by simply changing software. Fielded JTRS radios can be upgraded with new software via the wireless information network. This ability to insert emerging technology into the JTRS system paves the way for broadening the radios’ performance and creating new applications such as sensors for signals intelligence.
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