HFORCE Long-Range Radio System

History

HFORCE, or High Frequency Over-the-Horizon Communication, is a U.S. military long-range radio system intended to provide communications when satellite links are unavailable, degraded, or jammed. It uses high-frequency radio propagation to communicate beyond normal line-of-sight distances without requiring a satellite relay.

The system originated as an exploratory U.S. Navy technology for resilient beyond-line-of-sight communications. In September 2026, the U.S. Navy placed the first production order for HFORCE, covering 12 low-rate initial production kits and associated development, integration, testing, maintenance, and sustainment work.

The production effort integrates HFORCE with a High Dynamic Range Multi-Carrier Amplifier developed by MaXentric Technologies. The initial production program is scheduled to continue through March 2028.

Early development

HFORCE was publicly identified in 2018 as the HF Over-the-Horizon Robust Communications Enterprise. At that stage it was described as an exploratory system developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory. The concept used a protected HF waveform and was intended to provide a non-relay communications capability when satellite communications were unavailable, with potential for very long-range or global connectivity.

A related U.S. Navy Small Business Innovation Research effort launched in 2018 sought a High Dynamic Range Multi-Carrier Amplifier. The amplifier concept was intended to improve shipboard radio installations by supporting multiple simultaneous channels through one amplifier architecture rather than requiring a separate amplifier for every active channel. The requirement called for support for as many as 36 simultaneous VHF and UHF channels, while the proposed architecture also included support associated with HFORCE.

MaXentric Technologies was selected to develop the amplifier technology. By 2022, the amplifier effort had progressed to a mid-range technology readiness level as development moved toward a production-capable configuration.

Initial production order

On 16 September 2026, the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division at Lakehurst, New Jersey, awarded MaXentric Technologies a $9.6 million firm-fixed-price order for 12 HFORCE low-rate initial production kits. The award represented the first production run of the radio system.

The order also covers continued development, integration with the High Dynamic Range Multi-Carrier Amplifier, performance testing, maintenance, and sustainment support. Work is divided between Fort Lee, New Jersey, and La Jolla, California, with completion estimated for March 2028. Fiscal 2025 Defense-wide procurement funding covered the full value of the order and was obligated when the award was made.

The production order was issued under Small Business Innovation Research Phase III authority as follow-on work derived from earlier SBIR development. The available information does not identify the ships or units intended to receive the first 12 kits, and it does not establish a quantity for any follow-on production.

Design

HFORCE is designed around high-frequency radio communications in the 3–30 MHz band. HF signals can use the ionosphere to propagate over distances far beyond the normal radio horizon. This allows HFORCE to maintain beyond-line-of-sight communications without depending on a satellite relay.

The non-relay operating concept is intended to provide an alternative communications path when satellite systems cannot be used. Earlier descriptions of HFORCE characterized it as using a protected HF waveform and having the potential to provide global coverage, although publicly available information does not specify demonstrated range, data rate, transmitter power, antenna configuration, or waveform performance.

Amplifier integration

The 2026 production effort includes integration with MaXentric's High Dynamic Range Multi-Carrier Amplifier. The companion amplifier originated from a Navy requirement for a multicarrier architecture capable of handling numerous simultaneous radio channels while reducing the limitations of older shipboard arrangements that required separate amplification for individual channels.

The available material does not establish the final physical configuration of an HFORCE production kit, its antenna installation, the number of HFORCE channels supported by each kit, or the specific ship classes and shore units on which it will be installed.

Program status

HFORCE entered low-rate initial production procurement in September 2026 with an order for 12 kits. Development, integration, performance testing, and sustainment activities are planned to continue during fulfillment of the production order, with contract completion estimated for March 2028.

No confirmed operational deployment, fleet introduction date, or follow-on production quantity has been identified in the available information. The first production order therefore represents an initial manufacturing and integration phase rather than evidence of broad operational fielding.

Specifications (HFORCE)

General characteristics

• Type: High-frequency over-the-horizon communications system
• Primary role: Long-range beyond-line-of-sight communications when satellite links are unavailable or degraded
• Frequency band: 3–30 MHz HF
• Propagation method: Ionospheric HF propagation
• Relay requirement: Designed for non-relay operation without SATCOM
• Associated equipment: High Dynamic Range Multi-Carrier Amplifier
• Initial production quantity: 12 low-rate initial production kits