Primary Arms

Archive for the ‘Comms’ Category

GPS-Denied Environment Technologies from OKSI

Wednesday, February 14th, 2024

The modern-day battlefield deploys platforms and systems that are heavily reliant on GPS signal. The proliferation of electronic warfare and GPS jamming in today’s conflicts create complexity, disrupting commonly used tactics and rending certain systems and munitions inoperable.

GPS-denied environments are one of our military’s most pressing technical topics, as DoD prioritizes the pursuit of battlefield solutions. From ground soldier situational awareness to UAS and loitering munitions, GPS has been a pillar for carrying out successful missions.

OKSI’s OMNISCIENCE Ecosystem of navigation and targeting algorithms is an integration-ready software stack for UAS/UAVs. We can provide visual-based navigation that delivers absolute position updates, RF-denied autonomous mission capability, and Cat I/II target geo-locating within GPS-denied environments. OKSI is experts in computer-vision and AI, with a proud and rich history in aerial platforms, aerial munitions, and EO/IR sensors and seekers.

If your platform/system is ready to deliver the highest level of technology to our warfighters, get in touch with us:

Email: info@oksi.ai
LinkedIn: lnkd.in/eXnEKMUM
Instagram: www.instagram.com/ai.oksi
website: oksi.ai/defense

Airborne Test Force Tests Field Radio Ruck to Survive Airborne Combat Missions

Saturday, February 10th, 2024

The U.S. Army Airborne Test Force (ATF) located at Yuma Test Center, Yuma Proving Ground, recently tested program of record Manpack radios, the AN/PRC-158 and AN/PRC-162, managed by the Product Manager Handheld, Manpack, Small Form Fit (HMS) inside the Army’s newest Radio Carrier Rucksack (RCR) solution. The RCR, developed and produced by the Natick Soldier Systems Center, was stressed in combat-realistic scenarios by the center to determine if the RCRs could safely support parachute operations without damage to radios or the ruck.

Soldier feedback using the legacy radio rucksack over several years of test events indicated that a solution with better weight balance, comfort, and heat dissipation was required for the user. PdM HMS initiated a competitive market research strategy, which brought a variety of industry and government rucksack solutions to Soldiers during 2022 and 2023 that led to the selection of the currently tested RCR solution.

“The competitive process really drove industry innovation, challenging the community to develop a best all-around rucksack solution in support of Army combat operations while carrying our modernized communications equipment,” said Derek Harberts, deputy PdM HMS.

“What we saw during this test are the results of a successful competitive process providing the all-around best-value to the Soldier and the taxpayers.”

The current design leverages modifications to the existing design of the Modular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment assault pack currently fielded across the Army. Compared to the legacy RCR, the improvements allow securing the radio to the pack frame for better weight, balancing, and cooling. Modifications to the ruck allow better access if the radio needs to be carried and operated inside the bag as well as improved stowage and access for radio ancillary and mission equipment.

“The radio harness allows the radio to be connected to the existing assault frame, while the side pouches allow for individualized space to store antennas away from other equipment and gear,” explained Bob Cohen, HMS Manpack Lead Test Engineer.

“There’s additional space in the bottom compartment that can be used to individually store spare batteries and other ancillary equipment for ease of access.”

In all, the RCR will carry the radio, a battery, an antenna, and the Soldier’s basic load of individual equipment.

Leading up to the test, Soldiers with the ATF team started by packing the rucks as they would operationally under the direction of ATF Soldier Sgt. 1st Class Cody Lavalla.

“The configuration of these rucks is slightly different then the currently issued rucks,” tells Lavalla, “We are going through the process of figuring out how to rig the harness single point release to the ruck so all the equipment will survive the jump and is safe for the jumpers.”

The harness single point release is the equipment that secures the ruck close to the jumper’s body during most of the jump and is designed to be lowered on a release line away from the jumper by pulling a release handle just prior to landing.

When the Soldiers were about 150 feet from the ground, they lowered the rucksack carrying the radio using the lowering line, making it about 15 feet below them when they landed.

“We don’t want the ruck still attached to us when we prepare to land on the ground, or we risk injuries as we do our Parachute Landing Falls,” explained Lavalla. “We pull on the release handle and the ruck falls away from our body but is still attached to us via the lowering line so the equipment is out of the way when we are ready to land. It is nearby to have access to the equipment quickly if needed once we are on the ground.”

ATF Soldiers performed several jumps throughout the week for the safety confirmation tests. A team met them on the ground to ensure their safety and monitored the jumps.

Afterwards, Air Delivery Test Officer Faith Harbolt, ATF and members of the HMS team inspected the radios to see how they held up to the test.

“The test went well. The results of the test demonstrated that the rucksacks successfully secure and protect the radios during airborne operations. There was no damage to the rucks or radios observed during the inspection that occurred after the test was complete,” said Lavalla.

The improved rucksack will be fielded to units receiving Manpack radios starting early next calendar year. When fielded, these items will be used by units such as the 82nd Airborne during combat operations.

Story by Ana Henderson, U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground

Battlefield Technology Focus: Featuring OKSI, KAGWERKS, Firebird Electro-Optics & ONYX Industries

Friday, February 9th, 2024

During SHOT Show 2024, leading tech experts curated a parlor space to showcase pushing the boundaries of innovation with elite technologies. They all share the same goal; to bring the warfighter technical solutions required to overcome challenges faced on the ever-evolving battlefield.

Let’s cover down on Tech:

OKSI – Their Autonomous Precisions Weapon Systems includes Passive Ranging, Sentry Remote Weapon System, EO/IR Seeker for APKWS, and an 81mm Precision Guidance Kit. Additionally, they have Unmanned Autonomous Systems & Networks portfolio, which includes Autonomous Vehicle Kits, GPS-denied Navigation, Coordinated Drone Teaming & Swarming, and ATD/ATR.

KÄGWERKS – Their chest mounted radio systems featuring Silvus Technologies MN MiMo tech was on display, along with the Dock Ultra body worn compute system. The system enables operators to do real time processing of map data, image recognition, along with other AI/ML capabilities.

Firebird Electro-Optics – Their weapon mounted and handheld LED & LEP illuminators, along with their MAID MFAL dual beam single aperture laser, focusable VCSEL illuminator was on display. They also showcased their SWIR and LWIR solutions, with active and passive range finding and designation.

Onyx Industries – The Sentry Remote Weapon System was on display in the parlor and show floor in partnership with Persistent Systems, LLC, showcasing its multifunctional ATD/ATR human in the loop capabilities, in both its kinetic and ISR variants, ready to be deployed in overwatch or terrain denial positions.

Persistent Systems Awarded $5.1 Million Contract to Supply MPU5 Radios to Air Mobility Command

Thursday, February 8th, 2024

Networking solutions to support Air Mobility Command’s Contingency Response Groups

Persistent Systems (“Persistent”), a leader in mobile ad hoc networking (MANET), announced today that 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.

The MANET technology will enable the Air Mobility Command ‘s 621st and 821st Contingency Response Groups to quickly react to international situations that, in line with the service’s Agile Combat Employment (ACE) concept, require the U.S. Air Force to set up foreign airstrips, amass fuel and other resources, and coordinate aircraft landings with host countries.

“Our MPU5s deliver robust, secure, broadband line-of-sight and beyond-line-sight communications,” said Adrien Robenhymer, Persistent’s VP of Business Development for Air Force and Intelligence Community Programs, “and they do so without Air Force personnel having to rely on third-party infrastructure, which is key in a contested environment.”

The Air Mobility Command personnel currently employ old, walkie-talkie radios that cannot share video and still imagery or use geospatial awareness programs like ATAK. These limitations mean that “first-in” Contingency Response Groups operate in a slower, more plodding fashion when trying to set up runways. Likewise, relying on only audio can lead to planning errors.

The MPU5 radio runs the robust, self-forming, self-healing Wave Relay® MANET. With this adaptable, high-throughput network, users with MPU5s can seamlessly share voice, video, text, GPS and sensor data in a true peer-to-peer fashion. The radio also has a Cloud Relay™ capability which connects the line-of-sight MANET to beyond-line-of-sight LTE and SATCOM.

Working in conjunction with the MPU5s, the easy-to-erect Integrated Sector Antennas extend the Wave Relay® MANET over a massive geographic area.

“Persistent’s MANET products extend the enterprise to the tactical edge and allow full situational awareness even in austere environments,” Robenhymer said. “Beyond AMC and ACE, we see this technology have strong applications for the U.S. Department of Defense’s Joint All-Domain Command and Control, or JADC2, concept.”

Persistent Systems plans to deliver a full complement of MPU5 MANET radios and Integrated Sector Antennas to the Air Force in January.

Spectra Group Launch Their Groundbreaking Radio GENSS, Heralding a New Era of Tactical Radio Communications

Tuesday, January 30th, 2024

Spectra Group (UK) Ltd, a specialist provider of secure voice, data and satellite communications systems, is extremely proud to announce the launch of their revolutionary new tactical radio communications solution, GENSS (pronounced genesis /j?n??-s?s), at the mobile deployable communications conference in London.

GENSS is a significant advancement in the field of tactical radio communications due to its modular core framework and software-defined flexibility. GENSS heralds a new era in communication technology, integrating multi-mission and multi-mode functionalities for robust battlefield connectivity, with modular design, open architecture, and unparalleled adaptability. It offers superior interoperability and is a comprehensive tactical radio solution for voice and data communication on the battlefield, to meet both today and tomorrow’s requirements.  

GENSS has been designed and developed collaboratively by experts in tactical communications with specialist military operational experience, and with some of the very best scientists and engineers in the UK. Together, they have redefined and further reconceived the parameters of what a tactical radio could or should be.  This innovative, agnostic, modular hardware radio system adapts through simple software reprogramming to meet the specific requirements of its varied user roles. GENSS is capable of operating across HF, VHF, UHF, and satellite bands (L-Ku) as required and its secure, high-capacity design is built to navigate Beyond Line-of-Sight (BLOS) challenges, and facilitate Communications on the Move (COTM), offering a resilient agile solution for voice and high-bandwidth data transmission across all service platforms on Land, Sea and Air.

Secure by design, built using the highest possible specifications, and integrating the latest most advanced technological hardware means, GENSS not only delivers maximum performance while minimizing its size, weight and power, but also delivers a future-proofed capability. This revolutionary radio solution can stand alone or be integrated into any existing radio infrastructure, unleashing superior interoperability and flexibility to meet the demands of today and the future. It is simple to operate and configure, with an easy-to-programme user interface, resulting in an overall reduced training burden.  

GENSS boasts high-capacity, network sensing capabilities and has increased data rates over 25kHz LTAC channels, scaling up to 90kBps.  It has adaptive modulation waveforms, which automatically adjust through network sensing techniques, to meet the tactical situation (on the move and in combat vs at the halt scenarios).  Through novel engineering techniques, voice and low data rate solutions can be applied in the contested communications space to minimise detection..  With the proliferation of MANET data solutions, routing through GENSS will enable the extension of data bubbles to facilitate rapid data management applications delivering timely tactical updates to strategic command locations.

Simon Davies, Chief Executive at Spectra Group said: “For many years my passion has been to create the ultimate radio, which is easy to use, lightweight, modular and supremely adaptable to meet the challenges of today and the demands of an everchanging military and technological landscape. After several years of painstaking development, I am very proud to launch GENSS today.  Building on years of experience, expertise and learning from our award-winning SlingShot systems, our team have designed every component with the end user in mind and the result is extremely exciting.   I believe GENSS’s utility is vast and employable beyond tactical military applications, and its ability to integrate into existing communications networks opens up a world of endless opportunities.”

The Communication Platform TACTICAL CORE by blackned has Passed Functional Tests Under Combat-Like Conditions

Sunday, January 28th, 2024

It is a milestone for the implementation of the program “Digitalization of Land-based Operations” (Digitalisierung Landbasierte Operationen, D-LBO): Following laboratory tests, the digital communication platform TACTICAL CORE by military IT provider blackned has now also completed the final testing phase under combat-like conditions – and is now considered operational.

The digitalization of armed forces is developing at a high rate. As part of the program “Digitalization of Land-based operations” (D-LBO), the military IT provider blackned, based in Heimertingen in Swabia, was awarded a contract by the German Armed Forces in 2021 to develop a software for an effective network that connects all units involved on the battlefield. TACTICAL CORE, which consists of several software components, has now passed the final tests under combat-like conditions. Even after the first laboratory tests, feedback by the developer and the German Armed Forces was positive throughout. Thanks to its core feature, TACTICAL CORE is a significant part of the D-LBO program. “TACTICAL CORE therefore meets all the requirements to be put into operation”, says Timo Haas. The CEO of blackned is proud of his team that reliably developed the TACTICAL CORE communication system in such a short time span. “The software architects, the product managers, the project leaders, and the development team have all completed their tasks in a target-oriented, effective, and passionate manner. I would like to thank them.”

The superiority of armed forces is increasingly dependent on the availability of centrally hosted digital services that ensure the optimal exchange of data between all systems within the operation. “Software and artificial intelligence (AI) are critical enablers of modern military operations, lead the evolution towards multi-domain operations, enhance interoperability among allied forces, and support the achievement of information superiority and decision-advantage against adversaries”, the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) writes in its report “Software-defined Defence: Algorithms at War” (February 2023). With a background in high-tech software and specialized military IT systems, Blackned GmbH is a leader in the development of communication and control systems that make Software-defined Defense (SDD) possible. TACTICAL CORE combines three software components. XONITOR is a monitoring and management tool, RIDUX ensures a reliable and efficient data and communication infrastructure, while the patented MeshFLOW system enables seamless connectivity, even when soldiers dynamically move across the battlefield. The Federal Office for Security in Information Technology (Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik, BSI) has certified TACTICAL CORE’s data transfer for the highest security level “NATO Restricted” – proof of safe and authorized communication.

During the final functional tests, blackned and the Military Technical Center examined the operability in simulated deployment scenarios. During the tests, units consisting of vehicles and personnel used TACTICAL CORE in combat-like conditions. “The collaboration with the Military Technical Center and the German Armed Forces was a success, and the results of these tests are an important step forwards for the D-LBO program”, comments Haas.

The main challenge during the development of TACTICAL CORE was the multitude of systems that are deployed on the battlefield, the outermost tactical regions, and in operational command centers. The interaction and exchange of data, or the communication between analog radios with digital devices such as smartphones, is only possible with the help of an interoperable IT network. Similarly, joint operations between different units and armed forces, as well as the use of an increasing amount of digital equipment, technologies, and systems, has created an IT complexity that necessitates effective interoperability to exchange data in an expedient and safe manner. This is what TACTICAL CORE is capable of.   

New Marine Radios Cement Electromagnetic Spectrum Superiority

Monday, January 22nd, 2024

In a decisive move meant to ensure dominance over the electromagnetic spectrum, Marine Corps Systems Command is on track to upgrade 50,000 legacy radios with state-of-the-art multi-channel, crypto-compliant models in Fiscal Year 2024.

In line with Force Design’s call for rapid force modernization, MARCORSYSCOM’s Program Manager for Communications Systems, or PM CS, team has moved quickly— fielding more than 4,000 radios across the fleet since October 2023.

In recent years, experts have warned that stagnation in U.S. electromagnetic spectrum operations– the strategic and tactical management of electromagnetic frequencies for military communications, intelligence, and combat operations– has enabled our adversaries to significantly challenge American dominance in this crucial domain.

Recognizing this urgent need for change, the 2018 National Defense Strategy laid the foundation for the Department of Defense’s 2020 Electromagnetic Spectrum, or EMS, Superiority Strategy—a document that emphasizes the EMS as a critical battleground where invisible waves and frequencies become pivotal in modern warfare.

With this new strategic reality in mind, PM CS has worked tirelessly to update the fleet’s radio capabilities, ensuring that the fleet has the communications capabilities required to fight and win– no matter the clime, place, or electromagnetic environment.

“We began fielding in October, focusing on a specific domain while being mindful of the capabilities of multi-channel radios,” explained Richard Sessions, program manager for Communications Systems. “In addition to their enhanced functionality, our priority was to transition to radios that meet cryptographic compliance standards mandated by the NSA. This compliance allows us to operate securely across various frequencies and within a secure environment. Our deadline for achieving this compliance is set for December 31, 2024.”

The new multi-channel radios provide the warfighter with a versatile, software-defined system that emphasizes modularity and flexibility to allow rapid integration of new waveforms and cryptographic standards. This enhances Marines’ ability to operate securely and effectively in the dynamically evolving electromagnetic environment.

“The closest analogy to our current transition in radio technology is akin to moving from the era of flip phones to the advanced world of smartphones,” said Sessions. “In the past, we were limited to purchasing radios with fixed capabilities and had to replace them with newer models as technology evolved. Now, we’re shifting towards acquiring highly adaptable hardware radios that are not just modular but also capable of supporting new waveforms, marking a significant milestone in our communication capabilities.”

As the Corps prepares to fight and win on the future battlefield, these fieldings prove crucial as superiority in the electromagnetic spectrum directly influences communication, intelligence, and combat effectiveness—safeguarding the warfighter’s strategic advantage ahead of the future fight.

In order to address challenges in transitioning from hardware-centric management to waveform and software configuration management, the PM CS team maintains regular contact with NSA partners. This ensures alignment and approvals for the necessary waveforms and configurations.
However, the team noted that communication with the fleet is also critical, underscoring the importance of Marine feedback throughout the acquisition process.

According to Stephenie Dodge, product manager at PM CS, “Our team has conducted extensive testing and field user evaluations involving Marine units to ensure that our systems meet their needs. In every aspect of our work, we actively involve Marines from the fleet. We provide them with the equipment, offer quick training sessions, and then seek their input on how they would use it, what improvements are needed, and what aspects need fixing.”

Ultimately, this effort is critical within the context of Force Design’s ambitious modernization goals. As Sessions highlighted, Tactical Communications Modernization bolsters our operational capabilities, securing robust communication and efficient data flow.

“In today’s Marine Corps operations, where combat often unfolds within the electromagnetic spectrum, our success relies heavily on maintaining effective communication across the fleet and with joint forces,” said Sessions. “Controlling this space is critical, as it directly impacts our physical deployment capabilities. A key focus in our communication systems’ rollout is minimizing detection and interception risks. We’re dedicated to making our systems challenging for the enemy to locate and disrupt, thereby enhancing the operational security and effectiveness of our units in this digital battlespace.”

Despite the logistical challenges associated with the modernization of the fleet’s radio capability, the PM CS team is on track for a successful fielding. In a transformative move for Marine communications, the planned deployment of 30,000 multi-channel radios by December 31, 2024, is poised to significantly enhance the communication capabilities of Marines in the field, marking a crucial advancement in military communications technology.

Story by Johannes Schmidt, Marine Corps Systems Command

Photo of AN/PRC-117/G by Cpl Summer Romero, Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron-1

Visit Ops-Core at SHOT Show

Thursday, January 18th, 2024