The U.S. Army halted production of Cluster 1 JTRS radio hardware in January. We came across this news by chance in an article in The New York Times*. Certainly, the Joint Tactical Radios Systems (JTRS) is no trivial program, given that it will establish a $25-billion web that will link the combat soldiers of the future with weapons and robots. That is why we then checked the JTRS Web site and learned that the last news release with regard to the JTRS program was dated Nov. 4, 2004--well before this halt in production. So we rang up the Pentagon. Here is what they told us:

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Design changes and extended testing have delayed the Cluster 1 project and have raised the original cost estimates. The stop-work order was issued to the Boeing-led JTRS Cluster 1 team. Furthermore, the stop-work order is temporary and affects only development activities for the JTRS Cluster 1 Engineering Development Modules.

The acquisition requirements for JTRS are grouped into common "clusters." The Pentagon views the JTRS Cluster 1 Program as the pathfinder for its sister clusters that will demonstrate the concept of software-defined radios in military use. Cluster 1 will provide the warfighter with a multi-channel, software-programmable, hardware-configurable digital radio networking system. The Cluster 1 program thereby supports requirements of the Army Aviation Rotary Wing, Air Force Tactical Control Party, as well as Army and USMC ground vehicular platforms.

* "An Army Program to Build a High-tech Force Hits Snags," by Tim Weiner, The New York Times, March 28, 2005