Washington: The US Army is assessing its future distribution of radios and related gear that provide vital links to far-flung soldiers in both the Indo-Pacific and Europe.

The juggle, teased months ago by then-Army Chief Information Raj Iyer, considers multiple factors including price, looming security deadlines and the upgrades needed in preparation for conflicts of the future, potentially against technologically savvy enemies including China and Russia.

Col. Shermoan Daiyaan, the project manager for tactical radios at the Army’s Program Executive Office for Command, Control and Communications-Tactical, or PEO C3T, on April 26 said the service is examining network needs “in order to enable a division commander to fight in large-scale combat operations,” among other factors.

“Do we need to a have a radio in every vehicle? I don’t know. Do we need to have one radio per team? Or is it one radio per squad?” Daiyaan said at the 22nd annual C4ISRNET Conference. “We are looking at that, and looking at those things hard.”