ITT Exelis has been awarded a direct commercial contract valued at $11.6 million to provide a wide range of communications equipment to an undisclosed international customer.

This sale includes SpearNet UHF radios (photo) in both vehicular-mounted and soldier-wearable configurations as well as ancillaries and spare parts for the SpearNet radio systems. SpearNet is a high-throughput, portable radio that provides large amounts of voice, data and video communications over a self-forming and self-healing ad hoc network.

The SpearNet has undergone recent enhancements, including improved call reliability, resulting in continuous communications, without network reconfiguration. This enables a reliable, cellular-like experience for operators as they move around the battlefield.

Exelis has also improved SpearNet’s capability to transmit large amounts of data by greatly increasing its data transfer rate. When compared with other fielded, dismounted technology, SpearNet’s use of wideband direct sequence spread spectrum provides users with two- to eight times more voice, data and video transmission capability from dismounted soldier to commander. This is more throughput than any other military radio used by dismounted forces today.

“The addition of SpearNet to our customer’s already robust capabilities provides an overwhelming communications advantage in the ability to move large amounts of data across the battlefield,” said Nick Bobay, President and General Manager of ITT Exelis Night Vision and Tactical Communications Systems.