Thales Communications, Inc., has announced a planned software upgrade for 256 bit key AES encryption in the Thales 25 portable radio later this year. The Thales 25 is the smallest profile, lightest, and most rugged Project 25-compliant portable digital radio available for law enforcement, public safety, land management, and homeland security. It features 16.7 slim-line packaging; “shadow channel” operation; submersibility to 2 meters; OFB DES encryption; 11+ hour lithium-ion smart battery with fuel-gauge display; 304 channels; RF power (.1 watt to 5 watts); programming via PC, keypad, and cloning in the field; Digital: GPS tracking, unit-to-unit calls, talk-group calls, emergency calls; Analog: CTCSS, DCS, DTMF.

Earlier this year, Thales announced the availability of new firmware to upgrade early versions of the Thales 25, enabling the most useful and effective capabilities for all users. At no charge, Version 5.11 for earlier -501 radio models and Version 7.1 for -503 through -506 radio models are now available. The Version 5.11 upgrade features priority scan improvement, enhanced keypad with side button lockouts, unit display, and backlight enhancements. The Version 7.1 upgrade increases sensitivity while scanning, improves receiver response time, and provides more reliable shadow channel selection.

Thales offers comprehensive web-based product support that includes electronic software and radio feature upgrades. The free firmware is available for users to download from the Thales Communications website at www.thalescomminc.com. In addition to the free upgrades, new fire features for the Version 5.11 are also available for purchase via the website. These include tone, talkgroup, and unit picklists; zone cloning and zone password protection; and an event bank with an extra 48 channels.

Thales is a global leader in providing battle-proven, software-defined, tactical radios for use in size, weight, and power-constrained environments. For more information, visit www.thalescomminc.com.