BAE Systems received multiple contracts totaling $111 million to provide the Second-generation, Anti-jam, Tactical, Ultra-high Frequency Radio for NATO, or SATURN waveform, to the Republic of Korea (ROK). As part of the country’s national communications modernization strategy, SATURN will bring secure and interoperable command and control capabilities to the ROK’s military for fixed-wing and rotary aircraft. As the modern-day battlespace becomes more sophisticated, advancements in tactical waveforms are required. BAE Systems’ next-generation software defined radios will leverage SATURN’s fast frequency hopping waveform. SATURN will deliver new advantages to operators who rely on timely and accurate communications to inform key decisions in the field.
“In today’s complex and contested battlefields, superiority on the ground, in the air, and at sea is mission critical,” said Dave Logan, vice president and general manager of C4ISRS at BAE Systems. “This tailored solution for the Republic of Korea will equip its forces with state-of-the-art, secure, and modern communications for a variety of tactical missions while allowing them to maintain interoperability with the U.S. and coalition partners.”
The ARC-232A is a SATURN-capable software-defined radio, which is upgradeable, small, and lightweight, making jamming more difficult in the increasingly complex threat environment. The radios offer optimal receiver sensitivity in severe operating conditions and a broad range of configurations for potential countermeasures. With more than 100,000 radios deployed globally, BAE Systems’ battle-proven communications products offer nearly double the reliability of legacy products. The company’s compact radio sets also offer multi-band, secure anti-jam voice, data imagery transmission, and network-capable communications. The radios will be produced at BAE Systems’ state-of-the art facility in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
BAE Systems will provide the ARC-232A to Korean manufacturer LIG Nex1 for final build, testing, and aircraft integration. The AN/ARC-232A, MXF-4058 radio is part of BAE Systems’ new Starfire product line of software-defined radios (SDR). This modernized high performance VHF/ UHF multiband, multi-mode communications radio is designed with extensive reserve capacity to support future enhancements across many fixed and rotary wing platforms. Originally designed as an upgrade for the ARC-164 and ARC-232 radio systems, the new ARC-232A maintains the same form-factor and control interfaces and can utilize the same ancillaries, such as external cryptographic devices and the legacy remote control units.
