Data and Database Management Software
Raytheon Enlists PDA 184 to Stamp Out 'Boot Mail'
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FORT WAYNE, Ind., Nov. 28, 2005 -- Raytheon Company has demonstrated that a new personal computer application, the PDA 184, eliminates the need for deployed troops to download e-mail files to a disc and hand-carry them from one type of military radio to another. The practice, called "boot mail," is a work-around that troops employ to overcome interoperability problems among ultra high frequency (UHF) radios that deliver their e-mail to the field.
The PDA 184, developed by the Defense Information Systems Agency and successfully integrated by Raytheon, bridges the gap between the radios and two e-mail software applications -- the military's V-Mail and Microsoft Outlook -- which are hosted by military UHF radios today. Using the PDA 184, currently fielded UHF radios interoperate seamlessly, deliver e-mail directly to troops' computers and make "boot mail" unnecessary.
In recent field tests at Hurlburt Field, Fla., the PDA 184 successfully linked a variety of joint military service UHF radios, including Raytheon's AN/PSC-5C, AN/PSC-5D and AN/ARC-231 Skyfire. The PDA 184 also resolved interoperability issues that stemmed from incompatible communication waveforms. In side-by-side comparisons with a proprietary waveform, the PDA 184 delivered e-mail and other files four times faster. The proprietary waveform also failed to support radio interoperability.
"When we log onto our personal computers, we expect the e-mail to be there," said Jerry Powlen, vice president, Integrated Communication Systems. "We don't want to hand-carry e-mail from one computer to another and neither do our troops. The PDA 184 is a mission solution that solves the 'boot mail' problem."
Raytheon Company (NYSE:RTN), with 2004 sales of $20.2 billion, is an industry leader in defense and government electronics, space, information technology, technical services, and business and special mission aircraft. With headquarters in Waltham, Mass., Raytheon employs 80,000 people worldwide.
Hurlburt Field is located near Fort Walton Beach, Fla.
The commercial high-performance proprietary waveform was used by some military units, but it provided no interoperability among various standard military radios.
Contact:
MB Hodgkiss
508.490.2607
