Navy’s Air Combat Electronics Program takes delivery of first Rockwell Collins ARC-210 Gen5 NSA-certified radio

September 16, 2014

The U.S. Navy and Rockwell Collins celebrated the success of the ARC-210 program and the delivery of the first Modernized Type I Cryptographic Airborne radio during a Sept. 16 ceremony at Rockwell Collins’ facility in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Certified by the National Security Agency with Tactical Secure Voice (TSV) 2, the Rockwell Collins AN/ARC-210 Gen5 radio replaces existing ARC-210 radios. The original product is currently installed on more than 180 different aircraft platforms in 45 countries and is now available to be installed on the following platforms: E-6B, E-2D Hawkeye and F-16 Falcon, along with Marine One Presidential and MH-60R/S helicopters.

“This delivery is the continuation of the successful industry-government collaboration that has been a hallmark of the ARC-210 program for more than 20 years,” said Candace “Candy” Chesser, who leads Naval Air Systems Command’s Air Combat Electronics Program Office (PMA-209), headquartered at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland.

“Achieving full NSA certification on the latest Gen5 airborne V/UHF networking radio enables these warfighter platforms to operate with common, next-generation, ARC-210 Gen5 functionality, ensuring smooth communication flow between aircraft,” said Mike Jones, vice president and general manager of Communication and Navigation Products for Rockwell Collins.

The ARC-210 Gen5 radio features a software-defined Multi-Waveform Architecture, which is an optimized Software Communications Architecture with embedded programmable next-generation crypto and extended frequencies to 941 MHz.  In addition, the Gen5 radio provides Joint Precision Approach and Landing System (JPALS) UHF data link, SATCOM Integrated Waveform (IW) and Combat Net Radio capabilities.

Source : Rockwell Collins