EADS Defence & Security (DS) today announced a contract for the new communications system of the German Armed Forces. EADS Defence & Security (DS) is responsible for developing highly specialized electronic components for the new communications system. The project is for designing the Bundeswehr’s software-defined joint radio system "SVFuA" (Streitkräftegemeinsame Verbundfähige Funkgeräteausstattung), which is intended to optimise the German Armed Forces’ mobile voice and data communication in the coming decade. "Secure radio communications are a necessary precondition for protecting our soldiers, especially during operations abroad," said Bernd Wenzler, CEO of Defence Electronics. "Thanks to our experience with ultra high frequency equipment and the use of new technologies, for example on the basis of gallium nitride, we are in a position to offer an excellent solution for the most complex component of the new radio system." Owing to the large frequency bandwidth, the broadband module is one of the most challenging elements of the new radio system. The broadband capability enables the transmission of large data volumes over great distances, while at the same time ensuring optimum resistance to jamming. Similar radio frequency components are already being delivered by Defence Electronics for NATO’s data link programme MIDS (Multifunctional Information Distribution System). For this purpose, the company has set up specialized development and production facilities at its Munich, Ulm and Friedrichshafen locations.