United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2003-08-11 monographic deposited born digital 36 p. GA 1.13:GAO-03-879R https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-03-879R P0b002ee18037b037 f:d03879r DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-23 GAOREPORTS-GAO-03-879R machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-03-879R GAO-03-879R Internal controls Military radio Program management Strategic planning Program evaluation DOD Joint Tactical Radio System Correspondence A07957 The recent emergence of software-defined radio technology offers the potential to address key communications shortfalls and significantly improve military capabilities. The Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) program was initiated in 1997 to develop and apply this technology and to bring together separate service-led programs into a joint software-defined radio development effort. JTRS radios are intended to interoperate with existing radio systems and provide the war fighter with additional communications capability to access maps and other visual data, communicate via voice and video with other units and levels of command, and obtain information directly from battlefield sensors. As such, the JTRS program is considered a major transformational effort for the military and is expected to enable information superiority, network-centric warfare as well as modernization efforts, such as the Army's Future Combat Systems. Although total program costs have yet to be determined, the Army's effort to acquire and field close to half of the estimated 250,000 JTRS radios that are needed is expected to cost $14.4 billion. Congress asked us to review the JTRS program to determine if there are either management or technical challenges and risks that could jeopardize a successful program outcome. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-03-879R/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-03-879R.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-03-879R/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-03-879R.pdf GAO-03-879R https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-03-879R Correspondence GAO-03-879R; Challenges and Risks Associated with the Joint Tactical Radio System Program; Internal controls Military radio Program management Strategic planning Program evaluation DOD Joint Tactical Radio System