The AN/PRC-148 Multiband Inter/Intra Team Radio (MBITR) is the most widely fielded handheld multiband, tactical

software-defined radio Software-defined radio (SDR) is a radio communication system where components that have been traditionally implemented in analog hardware (e.g. mixers, filters, amplifiers, modulators/demodulators, detectors, etc.) are instead implemented by ...

, used by

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...

forces around the world. The radio is built by

Thales Communications Thales Defense & Security, Inc. (formerly Thales Communications Inc.), a subsidiary of the Thales Group, is a leading manufacturer of tactical communications equipment, including the AN/PRC-148 MBITR and JEM (JTRS Enhanced Module), currently fi ...

, a subsidiary of the France-based

Thales Group Thales Group () is a French multinational company that designs, develops and manufactures electrical systems as well as devices and equipment for the aerospace, defence, transportation and security sectors. The company is headquartered in Pari ...

. The designation AN/PRC translates to Army/Navy Portable Radio used for two way Communications, according to

Joint Electronics Type Designation System The Joint Electronics Type Designation System (JETDS), which was previously known as the Joint Army-Navy Nomenclature System (AN System. JAN) and the Joint Communications-Electronics Nomenclature System, is a method developed by the U.S. War Depa ...

guidelines. The MBITR was developed by the

United States Special Operations Command The United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM or SOCOM) is the unified combatant command charged with overseeing the various special operations component commands of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force of the United States Ar ...

(USSOCOM) and Thales Communications in the 1990s and went into production in 1994, to address the need for a secure multiband handheld radio.Thales PRC-148 JEM: The First Tactically Deployed JTRS Radio?
Defense Industry Daily It has been more widely deployed with

Stryker The Stryker is a family of eight-wheeled armored fighting vehicles derived from the Canadian LAV III. Stryker vehicles are produced by General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada (GDLS-C) for the United States Army in a plant in London, Ontario. I ...

Combat Teams and with troops deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan. As of August 2007, 100,000 MBITRs have been fielded, over 31,000 of which are in use by the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

Variants

AN/PRC-148 JEM (JTRS Enhanced MBITR)

The standard AN/PRC-148 MBITR can be seamlessly upgraded to the AN/PRC-148 V3/V4 JEM, which is the first radio to be

Joint Tactical Radio System The Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) aimed to replace existing radios in the American military with a single set of software-defined radios that could have new frequencies and modes (“waveforms”) added via upload, instead of requiring mult ...

(JTRS)

Software Communications Architecture {{inline, date=May 2014 The Software Communications Architecture (SCA) is an open architecture framework that defines a standard way for radios to instantiate, configure, and manage waveform applications running on their platform. The SCA separat ...

2.2 compliant. The radio is upgraded by replacing the front panel and COMSEC (COMmunications SECurity) control hardware assemblies. The radio is in production and has been fielded with

USSOCOM The United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM or SOCOM) is the unified combatant command charged with overseeing the various special operations component commands of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force of the United States Ar ...

AN/PRC-6809 MBITR Clear

The AN/PRC-6809 MBITR Clear is a variant of the MBITR, made available without encryption. While the PRC-148 includes US Type 1 capabilities in all versions, the PRC-6809 uses Level III Data Encryption Standard, making it available to police, firefighters, and militaries unable to obtain

International Traffic in Arms Regulations International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) is a United States regulatory regime to restrict and control the export of defense and military related technologies to safeguard U.S. national security and further U.S. foreign policy objecti ...

(ITAR) approval.

Features

* Seamless upgrade to AN/PRC-148 JEM (

JTRS The Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) aimed to replace existing radios in the American military with a single set of software-defined radios that could have new frequencies and modes (“waveforms”) added via upload, instead of requiring mult ...

Enhanced MBITR) * AM/ FM * Voice/Data * HAVEQUICK I/II,

SINCGARS Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System (SINCGARS) is a Combat-net radio (CNR) used by U.S. and allied military forces. The CNR network is designed around three systems: SINCGARS, the high frequency (HF) radio, and the SC tactical sate ...

ESIP Single Channel and Frequency Hopping, ANDVT * Analog Narrowband Capable (12.5 kHz) * 2 and 20 Meter Immersible Variants *

CTCSS In telecommunications, Continuous Tone-Coded Squelch System or CTCSS is one type of in-band signaling that is used to reduce the annoyance of listening to other users on a shared two-way radio communication channel. (See squelch.) It is sometimes ...

Tones * Retransmission Between Handheld Radios (with special purpose filters and cable) *

JITC The Joint Interoperability Test Command (JITC) is a wing of the United States Department of Defense that tests and certifies information technology products for military use. History The JITC had its roots in the TRI-TAC program of the 1970s, wh ...

Tested

Interoperability

The MBITR can communicate with the following devices: *AN/PRC-68 * AN/PRC-117F * AN/PRC-77 * AN/PRC-113 *AN/PRC-137 *AN/PRC-139 *

AN/PRC-152 The AN/PRC-152 Multiband Handheld Radio, also known as Harris Falcon III, is a portable, compact, tactical software-defined combat-net radio manufactured by Harris Corporation. It is compliant without waivers to the Joint Tactical Radio System ( ...

* AN/PRC-119 * AN/VRC-12 * AN/PSC-5 *

Motorola Motorola, Inc. () was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, United States. After having lost $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009, the company split into two independent public companies, Motorola ...

LST-5B/C *Motorola MX300 Series * Motorola Saber *Motorola XTS 3000 *Motorola XTS 5000

Replacement

While the JEM has passed government certification, it is an evolutionary platform, and not fully compatible with all specifications of JTRS. The fully compatible system is the JTRS HMS, (Handheld, Manpack and Small form-fit) being developed by

General Dynamics General Dynamics Corporation (GD) is an American publicly traded, aerospace and defense corporation headquartered in Reston, Virginia. As of 2020, it was the fifth-largest defense contractor in the world by arms sales, and 5th largest in the Uni ...

, Thales Communications,

BAE Systems BAE Systems plc (BAE) is a British multinational arms, security, and aerospace company based in London, England. It is the largest defence contractor in Europe, and ranked the seventh-largest in the world based on applicable 2021 revenue ...

, and

Rockwell Collins Rockwell Collins was a multinational corporation headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, providing avionics and information technology systems and services to government agencies and aircraft manufacturers. It was formed when the Collins Radio Co ...

are all prime subcontractors. The HMS is expected to be an integral part in the US Army's

Future Combat Systems Future Combat Systems (FCS) was the United States Army's principal modernization program from 2003 to early 2009. Formally launched in 2003, FCS was envisioned to create new brigades equipped with new manned and unmanned vehicles linked by an unpr ...

program.

Competition

The MBITR's primary competition comes from

Harris Corporation Harris Corporation was an American technology company, defense contractor, and information technology services provider that produced wireless equipment, tactical radios, electronic systems, night vision equipment and both terrestrial and spac ...

software defined radio, which has also received SCA and

NSA The National Security Agency (NSA) is a national-level intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collec ...

certification.

Accessories

* RCU Remote Control Unit with GPS * H2OPS * ViaSat Data Controller (VDC-600, VDC-800, or VDC-850) * Melanie H_N * Vehicle Adapter

ViaSat Data Controller (VDC-600, VDC-800, or VDC-850)

The ViaSat Data Controller (VDC-600, VDC-800, or VDC-850) acts as a Networking Interface Card (NIC), enabling seamless integration of IP-based applications into a point-to-point RF network. The device is built by

Viasat Viasat may refer to: *Viasat (American company) (founded 1986) *Viasat (Nordic television service) (founded 1991) * Danish 1st Division, officially Viasat Divisionen, second-highest football league in Denmark * Viasat Cup, 2006 Danish football tour ...

Thales Melanie H_N

MELANIE allows collecting GPS data from user nodes (also in ANDVT - Advanced Narrowband Digital Voice Terminal radio mode) and to provide a robust military interface to connect MBITR to

personal computer A personal computer (PC) is a multi-purpose microcomputer whose size, capabilities, and price make it feasible for individual use. Personal computers are intended to be operated directly by an end user, rather than by a computer expert or te ...

s (or Android tablets). MELANIE is connected to an external connector of MBITR and forwards data/audio connection for C4OPS and for RCU. Data connection by USB or

RS-232 In telecommunications, RS-232 or Recommended Standard 232 is a standard originally introduced in 1960 for serial communication transmission of data. It formally defines signals connecting between a ''DTE'' ('' data terminal equipment'') suc ...

. Typical Blue Force Tracking (BFT) configuration of a MELANIE network consists of at least a Headquarter station plus user nodes. MELANIE Handheld is able to send its own position over the VHF or SAT network while exchanging data (Chat, File transfer, Video, TR@CER, etc.). In transparent mode it has a throughput of 13.5 kbit/s with FEC. The device is built by Thales Italia Chieti Site, a subsidiary of the Thales Group.

Thales Vehicle Adapter

The compact, rugged Vehicle Adapters and Vehicle Adapter Amplifiers for the combat-proven AN/PRC-148 family of multiband inter/intra team radios expand critical communication capabilities and open up a broad range of secure and anti-jamming voice and data applications. Easily mounted in air, land, or sea vehicles, they provide power amplification for range extension while recharging the installed AN/PRC-148 radios.

External links

Thales Communications, Inc. - Tactical Communications Products

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:AN PRC-148 Military radio systems of the United States Military electronics of the United States Military equipment introduced in the 1990s