General Dynamics lands $295 million military contract

General Dynamics recently announced it has been awarded a $295 million contract to develop small, lightweight software-defined radios that eventually will be used by all branches of the U.S. military. The contract could be worth more than $1 billion through 2011 should all options be exercised, the company said. The JTRS Cluster 5 (Joint Tactical Radio System) series of products initially will include three device types—a power-efficient “manpack,” handhelds and small-form-factor applications—though as many as 14 applications or form factors could be developed under the contract, General Dynamics said. The company said it would lead the development of common hardware and software elements and manufacture some of the radios that will be delivered though the effort.