Thales eyes UK Personal Role Radio replacement programme

The Thales SquadNet soldier radio will be pitched for the UK’s forthcoming next-generation personal role radio replacement programme, expected to be launched in 2025. (Thales)

Thales is planning to pitch its SquadNet radio for the UK armed forces’ next-generation Personal Role Radio (PRR) replacement programme due to be announced in 2025,
Janes
learnt at SAE Group’s Future Soldier Technology conference held from 11 to 13 March.

According to John Dix, Thales UK sales manager for land communications, SquadNet is a suitable replacement to PRR because of its small form factor, making it a cost-effective solution tailored for dismounted soldiers.

The system being replaced is the Leonardo H4855 PRR, which has been in service with the army for more than 20 years. The PRR is a small, lightweight system designed for short-range communications suitable up to platoon level. The system has a 500 m operating range, weighs 1.5 kg, offers a 20 hour battery life, and has a 38.4 Kbps data rate.