Military Technology 9/2019

22 · MT 9/2019 Tactical Communications lowest tactical levels, while MOTIV will provide the necessary networking and software to host the MOTAKO battle management system. In part, MOTIV and MOTAKO will be carried across Rohde and Schwarz’s Streitkräftegemeinsame Verbundfähige Funkgeräte-Ausstattung – Joint Radio System (SVFUA) architecture being rolled out across the service’s armoured vehicle fleet. Initially this includes 50 PUMA and BOXER tracked and wheeled vehicles. SVFUA covers a 1.5MHz-3GHz waveband and car- ries Rohde and Schwarz’ HDR waveform in addition to others expected to be accommodated by the transceiver, such as NATO’s HAVEQUICK-I/ II digital air-to-ground/ground-to-air waveform in the 225-400MHz wave- band, the Multiple Adaptive HF Radio System waveform and ESSOR. Eventually, the Germany Army’s tactical communications modernisa- tion programme will see the replacement of 30 tactical radio types spread across 90,000 individual radios from the brigade to dismounted soldier levels. Up to 30,000 vehicles will be upgraded to accommodate the MOTIV/MOTAKO architecture, making it one of the most ambitious such programmes in Europe. The two programmes will see procurements con- ducted incrementally. Initially, a battalion-strength formation will receive the architecture in 2019-2024. Lessons learned from this implementation will then be spun onto the next stage of the programme, with deployment of the architecture to a brigade-strength formation. An additional six bri- gades will receive the architecture, with the whole undertaking earmarked for completion by 2040. This incremental approach means that lessons learned from the previous implementation will always be passed on to the next formation receiving MOTIV/MOTAKO. Beyond Rohde and Schwarz’ work in modernising German Army com- munications, in June Elbit Systems announced that its German subsidiary had secured a contract to deliver the firm’s PNR-1000 personal role radi- os. These will be deployed at platoon and company levels, and will also equip the army’s PUMA infantry fighting vehicles, allowing mounted com- manders to communicate with their dismounted troops. Other unspeci- fied combat vehicles will be equipped with the PNR-1000, which covers a 225-512MHz waveband, and supports up to 64 users on a network. IP architecture is used to carry both voice and data traffic. The radio has 225 channels organised into 15 groups of 15, while data can be carried at rates of 320kb/s across bandwidths of 100-200KHz. US National Standards Institute AES-256 level encryption is carried as standard. Italy So-called 5G [fifth generation] communications are all the rage in the civilian cellphone world, but the technology is now also finding its way into the military domain. In 2018, Athonet disclosed to <B>MT<P> that the firm will offer 5G connectivity to its man-pack and cube Long Term Evolution (LTE) portable cellular networks by 2023. These products pro- vide a secure cellular network using a specific Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) card added to the user’s cellphone. The Italian Army uses the manpack and cube LTEs alongside several NATO and non-NATO coun- tries. The man-pack hosts up to 600 subscribers on a single network, with a 10km range, depending on terrain, and up to eight hours’ operation. The cube accommodates up to 2,000 subscribers and has a range of several tens of kilometres. Both networks are sufficient to handle traffic volumes of several Mb/s, according to the company. Poland Poland has joined other European nations in overhauling its tactical communications. Sources close to the Polish Army’s tactical communica- tions community told MT in October that Radmor has been tasked to eval- uate the army’s future communications requirements and the tactical radio architecture needed to satisfy them. The Polish Army currently employs a selection of transceivers provided by a wide range of suppliers, including the Thales PR4G VHF tactical radio family, used throughout the army’s manoeuvre formations, while special forces use transceivers supplied by Harris. The sources added that Radmor could be tasked with realising a new range of man-pack and vehicular radios to replace the PR4G. The company is already delivering radios to the service via its P-RAD-5010 UHF and L-band handheld transceivers equipping individual soldiers. Spain Bittium’s successes have continued in Spain, with the firm announcing in September 2018 its selection to supply the Spanish Army with TOUGH multiband 30MHz-2.5GHz vehicular radios, equipped with the ESSOR waveform. The radios will initially equip the force’s UTE VCR 8x8 combat vehicle: the UTE consortium comprises General Dynamics European Land Systems (GDELS) Santa Bárbara Sistemas, Indra and SAPA. Further con- tracts are expected for the supply of vehicular radios for the production phase. Bittium’s radios will be delivered to outfit pilot vehicles to demon- strate the system’s capabilities and performance. The Spanish procure- ment represents the first foreign purchase of the TOUGH vehicular radios. These two-channel radios can select the best-performing waveform by taking the prevailing electromagnetic conditions into account. Alongside ESSOR, these transceivers can carry Bittium’s TAC WIN waveform and are capable of using several waveforms simultaneously. United Kingdom Finally, the United Kingdom’s Spectra Group revealed to MT that it ex- pects a growing demand for its SLINGSHOT communications system. This converts V/UHF CNR traffic into L-band satellite communications (SATCOM). As a result, it extends a CNR’s line-of-sight (LOS) range to give tactical radios a beyond line-of-sight (BLOS) reach. Thus, soldiers using a handheld V/UHF radio can communicate over intercontinental ranges us- ing SLINGSHOT. Another advantage of the system is that it can be used on the move, as it is furnished with an omni-directional antenna and features small, lightweight construction with low power consumption. Company officials told MT that the user can simply plug their radio into the device and continue to use their own communications security pro- tocols and cryptography. SLINGSHOT has been developed in man-pack and vehicular versions. A further incarnation has been realised that can provide SATCOM connectivity to commercial-grade radios. Moreover, an aircraft-mounted variant is available that provides L-band SATCOM de- spite the spinning rotor blades of a helicopter. Despite being optimised for Elbit Systems’ PNR-1000 personal role radio will equip the German Army from company to platoon levels. Their acquisition forms an important part of the ongoing modernisation of the force’s tactical communications. Radmor is expected to be closely involved with efforts to modernise the Polish Army’s tactical communications. The firm is already providing its P-RAD-5010 radios to the Polish Army. (Photo: Radmor)