Iridium contracted for DTCS development

BETHESDA, Md., June 10 (UPI) -- The U.S. Navy awarded Iridium Satellite a phase II contract for continued development of the Distributed Tactical Communications System.

Iridium was awarded the contract from the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division in Virginia. Under the more than $21.68 million phase II deal, Iridium will lead a team that includes ITT Corp. and Boeing on the development of the DTCS next-generation tactical communication technology.

According to a news release, "DTCS is an extension of Netted Iridium, the company's push-to-talk communications capability" and part of an effort to develop an advanced tactical communication capability for military units in situations where a direct line of sight is not available.

"We understand there is an unfulfilled need to provide mission-critical, tactical communications-on-the-move, and we are proud to join our industry and government partners to provide this capability for our warfighters. As the single truly global mobile satellite services provider, only Iridium can provide a netted solution anywhere in the world," Lt. Gen. John Campbell, Iridium government programs executive vice president, said in a statement.