Raytheon has been awarded a contract by the US Navy to provide joint tactical terminal senior (JTT-Sr) radios with modern security, hardware and software enhancements.

Being delivered by Raytheon under the $8.7m follow-on contract, the radios will be compatible with the new common interactive broadcast (CIB) waveform for US naval forces.

Capable of receiving and broadcasting near real-time threat data from a variety of national and tactical sensors to joint service host platforms, the radios can also provide critical ballistic missile defence support for target acquisition systems and broadcasting missile detection warnings.

"The recent full certification by the Joint Interoperability Test Command and security endorsement by the National Security Agency (NSA) make it the first terminal certified in support of the planned upgrades to IBS."

Featuring information, disseminated over integrated broadcast service (IBS) networks, the radios can track and deliver surveillance reports, while providing theatre-based tactical situational awareness capabilities for the military.

Tom Shepherd, senior programme manager for Raytheon’s network centric systems business tactical communication systems, said: "JTT-Sr is fully compatible with all legacy IBS tactical networks and the new CIB waveform.

"The recent full certification by the Joint Interoperability Test Command and security endorsement by the National Security Agency (NSA) make it the first terminal certified in support of the planned upgrades to IBS."

The company had modernised JTT-Sr at its facility in Largo, Florida, recently to meet the requirements of new security and features next-generation communication waveform.

Raytheon had delivered the flagship of a long legacy of intelligence dissemination terminals, JTT-Sr to the military for more than 25 years.

The intelligence dissemination terminal development began in 1985 by Raytheon. The JTT-Sr is the first fielded multi-channel, multi-waveform software-defined radios designed for military to provide a critical communication link.