The American army has entered into a contract with Mastodon Design, a company that is part of CACI International, to develop a portable interference device. This device, known as TLS-BCT Manpack, will enable soldiers to monitor electronic signals during foot operations. The agreement, valued at 1.5 million dollars, is estimated to span nine months, according to the Army Executive Directorate for Intelligence, Electronic War, and Sensors.
The TLS-BCT Manpack device has been designed specifically to provide military personnel with electronic warfare and reconnaissance signals on the ground. It is a compact version of the tls-bcT device, which is intended for installation on combat vehicles, and a larger TLS-Echelons Abo Brigade device for larger military units.
In recent years, the US Army has been actively investing in the development of electronic warfare capabilities. Contracts for the development of devices from the TLS line have already reached tens of millions of dollars in total cost.
Mass production of the portable version of the device is expected to commence in 2024.
It is worth noting that Mastodon Design was acquired by CACI Corporation in 2019 for $225 million. As of 2022, CACI has generated $4.3 billion in income from defense contracts, propelling the company to rank among the top 100 largest defense contractors in the world, according to Defense News.