Persistent Systems, LLC, which is a leader in Mobile Ad hoc Network (MANET) technology, has announced that it is a part of Endeavor Robotics’ winning team for the US Army’s MTRS Inc II Award (Man-Transportable Robotic System Increment II), which is a $100 million contract award.

The award has an option for an additional “$58 million worth of deliverables” to provide a fleet of up to 1,200 mid-sized UGVs to the US Army.
 
As Endeavor’s MANET radio of choice, Persistent Systems’ MPU5 radio will provide “secure and long-range data communication” for C2 (command and control), video, CBRNe, and other vital sensor data.

“We’re extremely proud of our partnership with Endeavor Robotics and congratulate them on this very important award,” says Dr. Herbert Rubens, CEO of Persistent Systems.

“The US Army has been a long-standing customer of Persistent Systems, and we appreciate the opportunity to deliver potentially 2,400 more MPU5 radios to support this UGV mission, the US warfighter, and the US Army.”

Tom Frost, President of Endeavor Robotics, adds “Persistent builds a great radio and has been a great partner to Endeavor. We look forward to working together on this Army program.”

Persistent Systems was selected to provide its onboard communications by Endeavor Robotics because the MPU5 provides the “performance and feature set” critical to the UGV’s mission and the US Army’s success.

This includes: “100+ Mbps, 3×3 MIMO radio with up to 6 watts of transmit power to provide a long range and secure IP network in both LOS (line-of-sight) and NLOS (non-line-of-sight) environments; modular frequency architecture that allows the operator change RF bands (L-, S-, and C-Band) as needed by simply swapping radio modules, and; an industry leading Wave Relay MANET capability that maintains the UGV’s network connectivity in a dynamic multi-hop mobile ad hoc network: the capability Persistent is best known for.”

The US Army’s PEO CS&CSS program office officially awarded the program to Endeavor Robotics, and low rate initial production is expected to begin in the 2018 / 2019 timeframe.