Business
United States Air Force Awards Viasat a Sole-Source Indefinite-Delivery/Indefinite-Quantity Contract Worth Up to $90 Million to Expand Tactical Data Networking Capabilities
IDIQ Contract Covers Viasat's BATS-D Device--the World's First and Only Handheld Link 16 Radio for Real-Time Fused Air/Ground Military Communications
About this update from Viasat, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"IDIQ Contract Covers Viasat's BATS-D Device--the World's First and Only Handheld Link 16 Radio for Real-Time Fused Air/Ground Military Communications\n\n\nCARLSBAD, Calif., Jan. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ: VSAT), a global communications company, announced today it was recently awarded an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract worth a maximum ceiling of $90 million, to provide special warfare operators of the United States Air Force (USAF) with Viasat's Battlefield Awareness Targeting System—Dismounted (BATS-D) handheld Link 16 radios (also known in the U.S. Department of Defense nomenclature as the AN/PRC-161 radio). In addition to equipment, the IDIQ award covers associated operator training and maintenance. \nBATS-D is the world's first and only handheld Link 16 radio. It bridges a critical gap between air and ground forces by providing warfighters at the tactical edge with real-time, secure, reliable access to integrated air and ground information for improved situational awareness and enhanced close air support communications. \n\"This IDIQ award demonstrates the value of the AN/PRC-161 handheld Link 16 radio for the unique mission requirements of today's USAF operators,\" said Ken Peterman, president, Government Systems, Viasat. \"Today, nearly 2,500 AN/PRC-161 BATS-D radios have been shipped to U.S. warfighters worldwide, and we continue to see strong demand for its use across multiple military branches, and among coalition partners as it has the proven ability to significantly enhance situational awareness, improve mission coordination and accelerate decision timelines in a multi-domain battlespace.\"\nThe IDIQ contract was awarded by the U.S. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.\nFor more information about Viasat's BATS-D radio and technology, please visit Viasat's website here.\nAbout ViasatViasat is a global communications company that believes everyone and everything in the world can be connected. For more than 30 years, Viasat has helped shape how consumers, businesses, governments and militaries around the world communicate. Today, the Company is developing the ultimate global communications network to power high-quality, secure, affordable, fast connections to impact people's lives anywhere they are—on the ground, in the air or at sea....