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MPU5

Persistent Systems' Wave Relay MANET radio with an integrated Android computer and ATAK.

by Persistent Systems

Land
MPU5 radio beside a rugged laptop during Balikatan 2026.

Photo: U.S. Marine Corps / Sgt. Iyer Ramakrishna · Public domain (PD-USGov-Military-Marines) · Resized and reencoded as WebP; no additional crop or retouching. Credit retained for factual editorial product coverage.

Persistent Systems' Wave Relay MANET radio with an integrated Android computer and ATAK.

Timeline

No milestones recorded for MPU5 yet. The timeline fills in as unveilings, tests, contracts and deliveries are sourced.

Technologies1

Supply chain inputs1

  • GNSS signals

    Infrastructure

    GNSS is cheap to jam or spoof. In Ukraine, Russian EW routinely jams GPS and drone subsystems, which pushes drones toward vision-based and other GNSS-free navigation.

    HighReported

Materials, components and capacity this product depends on. Open an input to see who produces it and the controls on it.

Cost to the government

  • Unit cost (per unit)Confirmed
    $29K
    Estimate / observation: 2025-09 · Then-year $ · 1,205 units · FY2025

    PB2027 Army OPA BA2, P-1 line 6458B95004 Handheld Manpack Small Form Fit (HMS), sub-item B95006 Handheld Radio. P-5a: FY2025 'Sensitive But Unclassified-Encryption (SBU-E) Radios' from Persistent Systems / New York, FFP contract awarded Sep 2025 (APG, MD), 1,205 units at $28.526K each; P-5 recurring line shows 28.526 x 1,205 = $34.374M. The budget does not name the MPU5 model: the radio is identified as Persistent's Wave Relay MPU5 family via the matching ~$34M / ~1,200-device Army NGC2 order reported by Shephard (Oct 2025), which also included PT5 and other Wave Relay devices, so the unit cost is an average across the delivered SBU-E radio sets. Hardware recurring cost only (NRE, SEPM, fielding, spares are separate P-5 lines). FY2026 (4,455 x $27.703K) and FY2027 (4,151 x $43.784K) SBU-E rows list vendor TBD and are not recorded here.

    Shephard
  • Contract unit priceEstimated
    $18K
    Estimate / observation: 2024-01-30 · Then-year $ · 280 units

    Estimated: $5.1M U.S. Air Force contract / 'more than 280' MPU5 handheld radios = $18,214 per radio (5,100,000 / 280 = 18,214.3). Upper bound: the radio count is 'more than 280' and the contract also bundles 10 Integrated Sector Antennas (not priced separately). Buyer: Air Mobility Command (621st and 821st Contingency Response Groups). Date is the company announcement date.

    Persistent Systems
Earlier cost observations (1)
  • MPU5 · Contract unit price · $9K
    Estimate / observation: 2017-09-13 · Then-year $ · 950 units

    Estimated: $8.9M contract award / 'more than 950' MPU5 radios = $9,368 per radio (8,900,000 / 950 = 9,368.4). Upper bound, since the radio count is 'more than 950'; the award may also include accessories, integration support and other items not itemised. Buyer: U.S. Army National Guard WMD Civil Support Teams, Unified Command Suite program (JPEO-CBD). Date is the company press release date.

    PR Newswire (Persistent Systems)

Unit costs and contract unit prices for this product, and budget figures for the programs that buy it. Each figure states its dollar basis and links its source; contract values are under Programs & awards.

Sources5

  1. 1.
    NewsAUSA 2025: Persistent Systems to complete its largest order by year's end

    Shephard · Oct 15, 2025 · Supports: Cost · quantity

    “Persistent Systems expects to complete the delivery of around 1,200 MPU5 mobile ad hoc networking (MANET) devices, Personal Transport (PT5) devices and other devices by the end of the year under a US$34 million order from the US Army.”
  2. 2.
    CompanyPersistent Systems awarded $5.1 million contract to supply MPU5 radios to USAF

    Persistent Systems · Jan 30, 2024 · Supports: Cost · amount

    “it was awarded a $5.1 million contract by the U.S. Air Force to supply its Air Mobility Command with more than 280 MPU5 handheld MANET radios and 10 integrated sector antennas”
  3. 3.
    CompanyPersistent Systems awarded $8.9 million Radio Contract for U.S. Army WMD Teams

    PR Newswire (Persistent Systems) · Sep 13, 2017 · Supports: Cost · amount

    “it was awarded an $8.9 million contract award to provide more than 950 MPU5 radios to the U.S. Army National Guard's Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Teams (WMD-CSTs)”
  4. 4.
    CompanyPersistent Systems, LLC | MPU5 Overview

    Persistent Systems · Supports: System, System · system input:gnss-signals

    “Data, video, voice, and a fully integrated computer operating system makes the MPU5 the world's first Smart Radio.”
  5. 5.
    Government recordArmy FY 2027 Budget Estimates: Other Procurement, Army Justification Book Vol 2, BA2 Communications & Electronics

    U.S. Army, Assistant Secretary of the Army (Financial Management and Comptroller) · Supports: Cost · amount

    “Manufacturing - Sensitive But Unclassified-Encryption (SBU-E) Radios(†) 2025 Persistent Systems / New York C / FFP APG, MD Sep 2025 Jan 2026 1,205 28.526 N”

Each fact on this page is attached to the sources that support it. Archived copies are linked when we keep one.