The US Army has contracted a CACI International-owned firm to develop an electronic warfare suite prototype for the dismounted soldier.
Mastodon Design will build and demonstrate the Terrestrial Layer System – Brigade Combat Team (TLS-BCT) Manpack prototype for $1.5 million in nine months.
The phase 1 contract award follows six months of competitive white papers and technical evaluations.
Electronic Warfare Suite
The TLS-BCT is an integrated suite of signals intelligence, electronic warfare, and cyberspace operations.
Interoperable with other TLS systems, it provides situational awareness through detection, identification, location, exploitation, and disruption of enemy signals.
“The TLS BCT Manpack compliments the TLS BCT and TLS Echelons Above Brigade (EAB) family of systems with a shared and open systems approach that creates the flexibility and efficiencies needed against a highly adaptive threat,” Project Manager, Electronic Warfare and Cyber Kenneth Strayer said.
Lockheed has already been selected for the vehicle-mounted TLS BCT and the truck-mounted TLS EAB programs.
52 Manpacks Requested for 2024
The US Army plans to transition the TLS BCT Manpack from prototyping to production in fiscal 2024.
A total of 56 TLS BCT platforms have reportedly been requested by the army in fiscal 2024, including 52 TLS BCT Manpacks.