The SOVERON airborne family and the T-7A

An airborne radio that assures ease of integration

Under a framework agreement between Boeing and Rohde & Schwarz, the R&S®MR6000R VHF/UHF airborne transceiver will be standard equipment for T-7A. Each aircraft will be equipped with one of these radios. Rohde & Schwarz has delivered the first VHF/UHF airborne transceivers for the T-7A test aircraft in 2015. The first test aircraft were flying with the radio in 2019. Almost 8500 radios from the SOVERON airborne radio family are in use worldwide on over 70 different platforms.

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Key facts

Customer: Boeing
Mandate: Development of secure airborne communications for the new Boeing T-7A Red Hawk advanced pilot training system, meeting the small size, lightweight and power requirements.
Solution: The SOVERON airborne radio family was developed to meet all size, weight and power requirements and MIL standards of any aircraft.
Key benefit: The SOVERON airborne radio family was designed to ease integration thanks to the continuous exchange of expertise with industrial partners, qualifications (MIL standards), minimizing EMC risks and other platform-specific requirements.

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The platform

Manufactured by Boeing and its risk sharing teammate Saab, the T-7A Red Hawk is an all-new purpose built training system designed for the mission, giving the U.S. Air Force a flexible design that can easily adapt as technologies and training needs evolve.

The T-7A flies with Rohde & Schwarz military airborne radios.

Customer situation and requirement

The T-7A Red Hawk is the new advanced pilot training system for the U.S. Air Force that will train the next generation of pilots for decades to come. Boeing was awarded a $9.2 billion contract for 351 T-7A aircraft, 46 simulators and associated ground equipment to be delivered and installed, replacing Air Education and Training Command’s 57-year-old fleet of T-38C Talons.

SOVERON® airborne software defined radio

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Rohde & Schwarz solution

Each T-7A Red Hawk advanced pilot training system will be equipped with two R&S®MR6000R VHF/UHF airborne transceivers of the SOVERON family. It meets the aircraft’s small size, lightweight and low power requirements, weighing less than four kilograms. It furthermore covers the frequency range from 30 MHz to 400 MHz and supports the NATO frequency algorithms HAVE QUICK II for interoperability and digital fast frequency hopping standard SATURN. The SOVERON airborne radio family is the product of decades of experience, especially in design and development.

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Results and achievements

In 2019, the aircraft manufacturer signed a framework agreement with Rohde & Schwarz. Under this agreement, the R&S®MR6000R VHF/UHF airborne transceiver, will be standard equipment for T-7A. Each aircraft will be equipped with one of these radios.

Rohde & Schwarz has delivered the first VHF/UHF airborne transceivers for the T-7A test aircraft in 2015. The first test aircraft were flying with the radio in 2019. Almost 8500 radios from the SOVERON airborne radio family are in use worldwide on over 70 different platforms.

“This cooperation is the culmination of years of unwavering teamwork by Boeing and Rohde & Schwarz. Along with updated technology and performance capabilities, the T-7A will be fitted with an enhanced radio communications suite, giving it an added benefit, preparing pilots for fifthgeneration aircraft. We are looking forward to working with Rohde & Schwarz on this very important project, as well as future opportunities.”

Michael Hostetter, Vice President, Boeing Defense & Space, Germany

The R&S SOVERON product family

The R&S®MR6000R, part of the SOVERON radio family, is designed for installation in the avionic bay and is remotely controlled. Despite weighing less than 4 kg, the R&S®MR6000R offers outstanding reception and transmission performance, and a choice of frequency hopping methods: HAVE QUICK II/SATURN or HAVE QUICK II, SATURN and R&S®SECOS in a single device, as well as highly secure embedded R&S®SECOS encryption.

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