NEWS | MAY 2026
Spectra Group (UK) Ltd has received its first order from the UK Ministry of Defence for GENSS™, the company’s Evergreen software-defined tactical communications system. The initial order comprises 40 body-worn systems, 14 platform systems and a full-service wrap.
Spectra Group (UK) Ltd has received its first order from the UK Ministry of Defence for GENSS™, the company’s Evergreen software-defined tactical communications system. The UK MOD becomes the GENSS launch customer with an initial order comprising 40 body-worn systems, 14 platform systems and a full-service wrap.
The order marks a significant milestone for Spectra Group and for UK sovereign defence capability, confirming GENSS as an operationally relevant system endorsed by its most important domestic customer.
GENSS is an Evergreen software-defined tactical communications system designed, engineered and manufactured in the UK, shaped by operational experience and built on UK sovereign engineering expertise. It delivers adaptable, efficient voice and data connectivity for distributed forces, with a system architecture designed to support capability evolution as operational requirements and technologies change.
The system delivers tactical communications beyond traditional line-of-sight boundaries using L-Band tactical satellite networking (L-TAC). Building on Spectra’s SlingShot heritage, GENSS supports typical networking speeds of 64 kbps at 25 kHz, with up to 90 kbps in optimal conditions, and flexible bandwidth operations from 5 to 200 kHz.
GENSS initially supports three core operational roles: SlingShot capability, MANET and data bridging beyond line-of-sight, and efficient beyond-line-of-sight voice and data connectivity. By combining efficient bandwidth usage, adaptive coding and modulation, and low-power transmission methods, GENSS enables resilient communications for mobile forces operating in contested or denied environments.
The system maintains reliable link performance in dynamic environments and inherently reduces the probability of detection and interception, using LPI-D techniques, AES encryption and anti-tamper protection.
Built as a software-defined system with modular architecture, GENSS is designed to support continuous capability evolution through software development, new waveforms and system integrations. It was engineered with input from ex-serving military specialists to minimise operator burden and support effective use in demanding field conditions.
Simon Davies, Chief Executive at Spectra Group, said: “As a veteran and owner of a British business, it is extremely rewarding to have designed, engineered and manufactured GENSS to meet the complex and evolving communication demands of the modern soldier. We have worked closely with the UK MOD to ensure that GENSS meets their current and future requirements, and I am very pleased that again the UK MOD is leading the way in adopting this new capability.”
“This government is backing British innovators and entrepreneurs, doing things differently to deliver for our forces. These are contracts, not words or promises, and they mean that thirteen British companies, many of them new to defence, are receiving real investment to develop the technology our Armed Forces need.”
JOHN HEALEY, MP
Defence Secretary, United Kingdom
The UK MOD was also the first to adopt Spectra Group’s award-winning SlingShot system, which enabled L-Band satellite access for existing tactical radios and now has over 10,000 units in operation with specialist and regular NATO forces globally.
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