Spectra Group showcases the GENSS tactical radio at SOF Week, enhancing global special operations communications

Spectra Group presented the latest member in its growing family of tactical radio solutions to the North American market at SOF Week in Tampa, Florida.

Speaking to Shephard at the show on 9 May, Spectra’s chief executive, Simon Davies described how the GENSS tactical radio has been designed on the foundations of the company’s SlingShot applique kit used by special operations forces around the world to convert VHF and UHF handheld and manpack radios into a satellite communications (SATCOM) radio capable of operating on-the-move.

GENSS was officially launched in January, but Spectra Group is looking to attract customers from the US and international special operations forces (SOF) community.

Davies confirmed with Shephard how GENSS will be production-ready in October. End users in the UK and US are expected to get hands on a ‘Beta’ model of the new radio in August.

Describing the GENSS modular core framework and software-defined flexibility, Davies explained how the software defined radio is capable of communicating in High (HF), Very High (VHF) and Ultra High (UHF) bands as well as multi-constellation SATCOM, particularly for Beyond Line-of-Sight (BLOS) and On-The-Move connectivity.

Capable of operating on land, in the air, and at sea, GENSS provides end users with between 90 and 900kbps in data throughput over 25kHz. It also accommodates adaptive modulation waveforms to ‘automatically adjust through network sensing techniques to meet the tactical situation on the move and at the halt scenarios’, Davies said.

Specifically, the 2kg GENSS solution features a main core unit which includes a pair of software defined radios (29MHz to 6GHz); remote interface unit; and high gain antennae for at the halt operation. The radio features AES 256 encryption and can also be networked to another SDR to benefit from Type 1 encryption, depending upon customer demands.

According to Davies, GENSS is available in two form factors meaning it can be used as a personal role radio; operations room system; or platform-mounted solution on board an uncrewed aerial vehicle or ground vehicle.

Spectra has also developed specialist ‘Low Probability of Intercept/Detection’ waveforms waveforms to support operations in contested environments.