{"id":50320,"date":"2023-12-04T19:43:29","date_gmt":"2023-12-04T19:43:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2023\/12\/04\/backpack-jammer-prototyped-by-cacis-mastodon-passes-early-army-test\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T18:56:33","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T18:56:33","slug":"backpack-jammer-prototyped-by-cacis-mastodon-passes-early-army-test","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/training-sim\/2023\/12\/04\/backpack-jammer-prototyped-by-cacis-mastodon-passes-early-army-test\/","title":{"rendered":"Backpack jammer prototyped by CACI\u2019s Mastodon passes early Army test"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SIMI VALLEY, Calif. \u2014 Preliminary testing of a portable jammer soldiers can sling to their backs and use to manipulate electronic signals while on the move was successful, according to its makers and a U.S. Army official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The service in November put the Terrestrial Layer System-Brigade Combat Team Manpack<\/a>, or TLS-BCT Manpack, through an operational demonstration at Fort Huachuca in Arizona. CACI International-owned Mastodon Design months earlier won a $1.5 million contract to prototype the system, built utilizing the company\u2019s existing Beast and Kraken electronic-warfare products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think we were very happy with what we saw and where it\u2019s going,\u201d Todd Probert, CACI\u2019s president of national security and innovative solutions, said in an interview at the Reagan National Defense Forum in California. \u201cWe\u2019re not sleeping on the last test. We\u2019re continuing to look to new modes of capability.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The TLS-BCT Manpack is designed to give troops a mobile means of molding the electromagnetic spectrum to their advantage. It is a smaller offshoot of the TLS-BCT, to be installed aboard Stryker<\/a> and Armored Multi-Purpose vehicles, and the longer-range TLS-Echeclons Above Brigade, envisioned for use by divisions and corps amid preparations for fighting with Russia and China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A key consideration of the backpack version is its physical load: size, weight and power, often referred to as SWaP. Soldiers carry dozens of pounds of gear; adding to the pile can be annoying at least and debilitating at most.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re already asking people to carry too much stuff. In my judgement, those parts of the defense industry that can deliver an exquisite capability that doesn\u2019t break the back of the operator, literally, is going to be a premium,\u201d Michael Nagata<\/a>, a CACI strategic adviser, senior vice president and retired Army lieutenant general, said in an interview at the forum. \u201cI mean, my average combat load when I was in service was well over 60 pounds.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t