Thales debuts new Synaps combat radio system

PARIS, June 13 (UPI) -- Thales Group is unveiling Synaps, a broadband tactical software-defined radio family, at the Eurosatory defense exhibition this week, the company said.

Designed with collaborative combat in mind, the new communication systems are designed for international markets and all branches of the military, Thales said in a statement.

Synaps provides commanders with range and a combination of data rates, security and connectivity, Thales said.

The system is based on Contact, Europe's largest software radio program.

That system is contracted by the French defense procurement agency and will be in the hands of the French military by 2019, Thales said.

The Synaps array is also designed to support battle space digitization and C4I systems.

While providing hierarchical communications, Synaps offers collaborative combat capabilities based on real-time horizontal communications between all units on the ground, Thales said.

It also offers simultaneous voice, messaging, video, chat and blue force tracking, with the most critical data transfers given priority status.

"Like the network of neurons in the human brain, SYNAPS acts as the nervous system of a military deployment, enabling units to detect threats and share information about the tactical situation in real-time and at high data rates," the company said.