Raytheon has submitted a bid for the US Air Force’s (USAF) global aircrew strategic network terminal (GASNT) development contract, aimed at offering protected communication capabilities to warfighters in challenging environments.
The GASNT is a nuclear command and control system expected to utilise both extremely high frequency (EHF) and advanced extremely high frequency (AEHF) communication waveforms.
Raytheon Network Centric Systems business Integrated Communication Systems vice president Scott Whatmough said the company will deliver reliable and cost-efficient terminals to help the USAF manage one of the country’s sensitive and significant communications requirements.
The programme primarily intends to offer secure and mobile very low frequency (VLF) and advanced EHF communications to bomber, tanker and reconnaissance units, as well as the mobile relocation teams during both fixed site and deployed strategic and non-strategic nuclear execution force missions.
GASNT will specifically provide the ground element of the minimum essential emergency communications network (MEECN) system with an ability to receive, evaluate and broadcast emergency action messages (EAM) and also send alerts that are required to start aircrew actions.
The terminal is expected to improve the currently fielded system by delivering greater capacity and capabilities, in addition to ensuring the availability of communication links for supporting command and control (C2) systems of the US nuclear forces.
GASNT programme is managed by the Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC), while the contract is expected to be awarded in June 2013.
