The AN/PRC-158: A Resilient Communications Bridge Between Air and Ground

A Stronger Air-to-Ground Interoperability Foundation

The Army's concerted effort to provide commonality between ground and aviation forces stemmed from a 2019 intraservice memo by then-Army acquisition executive Bruce Jette, who articulated the need for pilots and aircrews to use the same radios as troops on the ground, according to Minaschek.

The same year, speaking more broadly about interoperability requirements in an open missive entitled "Modernization through unity of effort," Jette stated: "Getting the right equipment and systems to Soldiers at the right time is not only essential to supporting our force today, but will also be essential in supporting the future force. … To effectively modernize the Army over the next decade and a half, the enterprise needs to develop future concepts that drive our materiel requirements, with a supporting architecture that ensures interoperability."

Since that time, according to Minaschek, the U.S. government has followed suit, focusing aviation community communications requirements to leverage solutions used for ground operations.

For the Chinook fleet specifically, the AN/PRC-158 will replace the legacy L3Harris AN/ARC-201D Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System (SINCGARS). Replacing the 20-plus-year-old radio will add an extra channel to the CH-47's inventory, expanding PACE (Primary, Alternate, Contingency, Emergency) planning as well as flexibility for future software upgrades as requirements emerge, according to Minaschek.

"We're providing HMS capabilities that the ground forces have in the aviation platform with a software-defined radio," he said. "The PRC-158 continues to deliver the performance and air-to-ground interoperability for the Army to operate and win in large-scale combat operations and multi-domain environments. It also sets the stage for Modular Open Systems Approaches interoperability with multiple interfaces."

The Sky's the Limit

The Army has selected three of six platform-specific AGNR solutions thus far in the program. The service will also choose the radio platforms for the MQ-1C Gray Eagle, AH-64 Apache and UH-60V Black Hawk.

The L3Harris AIB mounts have been purpose-built, incorporating inputs from the Army, to meet Size, Weight and Power requirements for each of these airframes; they support both AN/PRC-158 and AN/PRC-167 platform integration, Minaschek added.

"The L3Harris AN/PRC-158 will deliver interoperable, resilient comms between all platforms equipped with it," Minaschek said. "Ground and air forces leveraging the manpack radio and L3Harris' broad line of advanced waveforms have that high-assurance connectivity to get the job done quickly and stay protected during today's high-intensity multi-domain combat."

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.