Military Technology 04/2021

Guest Editorial MT 4/2021 · 5 the SOVERON D, known from the SVFuA development project for the German armed forces, we are very well prepared for the future. We were named the national champion for the ESSOR programme, whose wave- form will be integrated into the SOVERON system architecture. The col- laboration of European industry, and the provision of SDRs, will give the major projects of many national armed forces an enormous boost, by providing a secure communications infrastructure. Longevity is a fundamental for all of us at Rohde & Schwarz, as far as equipment endurance is concerned. So, too, however, is system agility and flexibility, in terms of being able to accept modification and cater for the injection of technologies not yet completely developed. Incorporating the right amount of growth into products is a key activity here. As systems can be maintained in operation over considerably extended periods of time, they have to be regularly updated and adapted to these new tech- nological developments. We support our global partner base by offering comprehensive services throughout all phases of the project lifecycle. The company works in very close collaboration with the customer or- ganization, in order regularly to reflect innovations that may influence the specific operational scenarios dominating the partner’s routine activities. Rohde & Schwarz – a technology-driven company in the rapidly-evolv- ing defence and security industries, pursues a highly innovative research and development agenda. Alongside new developments, this drive has allowed us to expand into new markets, increase manufacturing volumes and drive down costs. 2021 is a challenging year. It is important to say, however, that even in volatile times, Rohde & Schwarz stands fully alongside its customers, as a trusted partner, with the aim of ensuring they are supported in achieving their mission objectives. That is our promise. Communications in a Multi-Polar world [Thomas Stepanski is Director of Sales, Tactical Communications, for Rohde & Schwarz, an independent, Munich-based technology group with a global footprint. The company has positioned itself as a reliable partner for shaping the future of communications, informa- tion and security. The views expressed here are Mr Stepanski’s own.] The networked characteristics of current and future operational scenarios – for military operators and security agencies – call for more comprehensive, faster and more secure communications – in the right place, at the right time. Achieving this quickly, within available budgets and in a manner that is sufficiently flexible to be adapted to different national doctrines and cultures, is a challenge. As is addressing the demand for commonality and interoperability. The future market for complex, comprehensive data and voice com- munications will be driven by a series of factors. Scalability and inter­ operability are key, while cost will undoubtedly be one of the most con- sistent factors – budget austerity continues to dominate procurement decision-making. The ability to craft and implement graceful solutions that will satisfy the multiple stakeholders for any acquisition programme – in a consistent, iterative fashion – will distinguish winners from losers among industrial concerns. When armed forces call for a software-defined radio (SDR) that offers secure, trustworthy communications, in different security levels up to classification level SECRET for national and allied missions, we draw on our SOVERON suite as a key national technology. We stand by our credo: design today what is urgently needed tomorrow for future requirements, taking into account the equipment of yesterday. Another future field on which we place great emphasis is that of wave- forms, not forgetting that a radio is nothing without a waveform. That is exactly the reason we developed our own waveform suite. We have a significant number of these, required by SDRs in order to enable com- munication architectures for all kind of potential applications – such as situational awareness, live video transmission, command and control, and even secure voice communications. There are also multiple design aspects to be considered when devel- oping a waveform. One suitable for air-to-ground communications, for instance, must cope with the high speed of the airborne platform, and therefore must necessarily incorporate Doppler shift compensation – something decidedly unnecessary for strictly terrestrial point-to-point communications. At least, an existing heterogeneous network has to be interconnected via a trustworthy communications architecture, which gives government and military customers full digital sovereignty: We call it the SOVERON ecosystem. Interoperability is an aspect of the communications domain that needs to be looked at from multiple angles – today, arguably, more so than at any previous time in the history of our business. It is not only important for protecting national interests, it is also a key requirement for the ability to be able to conduct multinational, allied or coalition missions. Rohde & Schwarz provides users with access to appropriate tools for porting legacy and modern innovative waveforms. This gives the end user back- ward compatibility for existing waveforms and radio systems, as well as security of investment as far as being able to conduct joint or combined operations is concerned. We even offer the possibility of platform-agnos- tic communications – designing and operating effective communications solutions completely independent of any manufacturer or even govern- mental influence. With our experience in SDR and associated waveforms from many years of development with and for our partners, as well as, for example,