Maintaining reliable, flexible command and control in the most challenging environments has been a long-standing problem in military communications.
Radio telephone operators (RTOs) and other tactical users face constant uphill battles in today's military environment. The U.S. military and allied forces use a wide array of radios, manufacturers , waveforms, and mission sets. But these radios don't always "talk" to each other. The result is siloed systems, communication gaps, and inefficient command and control (C2).
To solve these challenges, Curtiss-Wright built the PacStar® Modular Radio Center (MRC). PacStar MRC is a COTS-based, modular, tactical and expeditionary, rugged radio, voice, and IP-integrated solution. It integrates popular U.S. DOD and civilian radios into rugged, compact chassis, suitable for soldier-carry, fly-away, or vehicle-mounted applications. Easily combined with the PacStar 400-Series to build radio and IP communication solutions for any mission, PacStar MRC can be configured to support a vast array of use cases and customization options to ensure organizations can meet their tactical or deployed radio communications needs.
With PacStar MRC, a soldier carrying a handheld radio can now digitally broadcast voice traffic worldwide in seconds. Commanders can issue real-time decisions from across the globe. Users can switch between radios, frequencies, or waveform types mid-mission
Without the MRC, this patchwork creates delays. Users must transcribe voice communications and pass messages up the chain via emails or digital facsimiles. Radios are often confined to line-of-sight (LOS) use, making remote coordination difficult and slow. PacStar Modular Radio Center changes all of this.
Why This Matters:
It's no longer just about line-of-sight communications—it's about full battlespace situational awareness and the ability to act on that awareness in real time.
The MRC isn’t just a set of radios in a box. It’s a system designed to make communication possible in places where it often breaks down. It was developed to give commanders the ability to adapt and maintain control in disconnected or degraded conditions so that they can make decisions, issue orders, and stay connected with their units even when the environment is working against them.
In short, PacStar MRC exists because modern operations demand more than legacy systems can provide and because communication at the edge is too important to leave to chance.
The Mission: Tailorable, Scalable, Global Communications
PacStar MRC provides flexible, secure, and real-time C2 capabilities to military forces operating across any domain—land, air, sea, and cyber—by enabling rapid integration and global broadcasting of tactical communications.
The MRC empowers commanders, warfighters, and support elements to communicate instantly, regardless of what radio system they're using, where they're located, or how dynamic the mission environment is.
Whether it's boots-on-the-ground RTOs, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), robots, or strategic operations centers, the MRC connects them all. It's a plug-and-play system that can house a wide variety of military radios, convert analog signals to digital, and route that data securely over any available IP network—including satellite, terrestrial, or even commercial networks.
Designed for Modern Multi-Domain Operations and Battlefield Agility
Modern battlefields are anything but predictable. Communications need to work in chaos, not just in ideal conditions. PacStar Modular Radio Center was built to give operational commanders a system that adapts as fast as the mission evolves.
From dusty forward operating bases to global operations centers thousands of miles away, the MRC delivers rapid integration and global broadcasting of tactical communications. It is a rugged, integrated solution designed to meet the complexity of today’s multi-domain fight.
PacStar Modular Radio Center acknowledges that no two missions are the same by being:
- Modular – Radios can be swapped in and out based on the mission
- Interoperable – Supports a wide variety of manufacturers and waveforms
- Deployable – Works in both hasty tactical environments and fixed, strategic sites
- Domain-Agnostic – Designed for cross-domain operations: cyber, space, air, land, and sea
- Backhaul Agnostic – Route data through Starlink, StarShield, Kymeta, fiber, or any IP-based system
It’s a system built for decisions that can’t wait, in places where reliability isn’t optional. Because in today’s operational environment, adaptability isn’t optional – it’s a requirement.
Secure Communications at the Tactical Edge – by Design
Of course, transmitting data across networks, especially public or contested ones, demands top-tier security. PacStar MRC supports:
- Type 1 encryption through native radio functionality
- Commercial Solutions for Classified (CSfC) configurations
- Security monitoring tools integrated into the platform
- Signal intelligence (SIGINT) support through modular add-ons
Also, it's not just encryption. By converting communications into IP, the MRC enables continuous monitoring, traffic analysis, and the ability to use advanced tools like AI inference, cross-domain solutions, and anomaly detection to keep adversaries out and data protected.
Real-World Application: From Setup to Execution
At a typical exercise or deployment, PacStar MRC transforms operations. RTOs hit the ground, set up antenna fields, establish power, and deploy MRCs to manage their communications. The MRC brings up local LOS voice nets while also routing traffic via satellite or horizontal RF relay—whatever the mission demands.
Need to replace one radio with another? Just swap it out. Need to shift from a tactical to a strategic posture? Reconfigure the MRC in minutes. Need to detect or respond to RF interference or jamming? IQ-Core® Software monitors and receives alerts from the radios in real time.
The Role of IQ-Core Software with PacStar MRC
IQ-Core Software is the brain behind PacStar MRC's power. This intuitive software:
- Automates the configuration and monitoring of connected radios
- Detects jamming or interference and reports it across the enterprise
- Supports remote management of radios and ROIP modules
- Interfaces with third-party tools for analytics, visualization, and response
In short, it brings awareness and automation to what used to be a manual, error-prone process.
Final Thought: A Jigsaw Puzzle That’s Always Changing
Communications in the modern battlespace are like a dynamic jigsaw puzzle. Who's connected? How? Where? On what frequency? With what gear? It's all constantly shifting.
PacStar Modular Radio Center is designed and engineered to meet that reality.
It is today's most adaptive, mission-focused, and battlefield-ready tactical communications solution. Designed by people with more than a century of military experience, it aims to give the commander and every soldier in the field the voice, data, and control they need—anytime, anywhere, across any domain.
To learn more about PacStar MRC, click here.
David Gregory
Chief Architect
David Gregory is the Chief Architect and a Technical Fellow in Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions with PacStar Communications Group - working closely with the industry partners to identify & develop new technologies and integrated solutions for immerging military use-cases. Mr. Gregory has extensive experience fielding tactical networking solutions, with a technical background in electrical engineering, computer engineering, network security, security systems, digital design, CSfC (Commercial Solutions for Classified), and ISR (intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance).
