By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
LIG Nex1 showcased its up-to-date tactical multi-band and multi-role radio (TMMR) that allows an integrated transmission of voice, image and video data as well as text messages and e-mail, during the Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhibition 2009 that ended Sunday.
The radio, a key part of the Korean military's soon-to-be-deployed Tactical Information Communication Network (TICN), also enables two or more troops to communicate with one another simultaneously via multiple radio frequencies and identify the locations of friendly forces through the Global Positioning System (GPS), company officials said.
``We see the TMMR development as a valuable achievement, featuring LIG Nex1's world-class defense products,'' company president Lee Hyo-koo said. ``LIG Nex1 will play a pivotal role in establishing the TICN in the coming years.''
The firm spent about 11 billion won for the 2007-2008 exploratory development of the TMMR, overseen by the state-funded Agency for Defense Development, the officials said.
TICN is a future tactical military communication information system that will allow for precise command, control and decision-making by unifying the diversified military communication network and conveying a broad array of battlefield information in real time. It will replace the existing SPIDER communications system.
The network system consists of five sub-systems, including TMMR, High Capacity Trunk Radio (HCTR) and the Network Management System (NMS).
TICN is scheduled to enter service by 2012.
Once mass production starts, the TMMR is expected to compete with the U.S. Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) on the international market, the officials said.
``Based on the technology and marketing infrastructure built by selling its military communication radios, LIG Nex1 is currently discussing the export of the TMMR to Southeast Asian nations,'' a company official said.
Established in 1976 as Goldstar Precision, the firm develops and manufactures a wide range of defense systems, including precision-guided missiles, radar, underwater and fire-control systems, communications, electronic warfare, avionics and combat robots.