Northrop Grumman Corp. has successfully demonstrated the capabilities of an advanced high power amplifier for the US Army that is capable of enabling critical communications for the network-centric Future Force. Army Future Force concepts include information superiority and improved situational understanding through the integration of data from joint forces. These capabilities require a highly secure wideband network to share large amounts of real-time information among forces on the ground, sea and air. A key enabler of this capability is an efficient power amplifier with enough power to transmit wideband data waveforms such as the Wideband Networking Waveform (WNW) over distances warfighters require. WNW is currently under development by the Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) program. Nine months after the program’s start, Northrop Grumman demonstrated that its software-defined radio (SDR) power amplifier could provide enough output power to enable WNW communications at the required range and throughput. In addition, Northrop Grumman’s high efficiency design met the difficult size, weight and thermal requirements of the JTRS ground platform. All high risk areas were addressed and high efficiency and output power over an extremely wide bandwidth were achieved. Northrop Grumman’s SDR power amplifier is being developed under the Army Communications-electronics Research Development & Engineering Center (CERDEC). CERDEC’s Radio Enabling Technologies and Nextgen Application Army Technology Objective program develops and transitions technology insertion solutions to the JTRS program. Northrop Grumman’s test program for the advanced power amplifier included an unusual stress test to explore the ability to transmit a large amount of data in a short time. The amplifier was subjected to a full-power, 100 percent duty cycle stress test for four minutes. The amplifier operated normally during the entire test and key component temperatures remained within their limits even at the end of the test interval.