The contract’s initial award is valued at approximately $2.4 million with options for further engineering and design. Compared to traditional handheld radios, the new ViaSat security software on warfighters’ own smartphones aims to enable them to contribute information to multiply force effectiveness at a fraction of the cost, with faster network access and greater capability.

      The deal is designed to add ViaSat cyber and information security to commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) smartphones and tablets to allow for secure communication over 3G/4G/LTE cellular and Wi-Fi networks, the storing of sensitive data and protection of these devices against malware attacks for tactical warfighters as well as any government or commercial customer.