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Part one of the BATTLESPACE feature on Software Defined radios.
This feature concentrates on JTRS developments, whilst our next feature, to be published in the October AUSA issue, will concentrate on legacy and other systems outside of JTRS.
Whilst the Joint Tactical radio System (JTRS) kicked off the large-scale development of JTRS, the idea actually came form a Hughes project to develop a software radio for us in automobiles in the 1960s.
A Software Defined Radio (SDR) system is a radio communication system where components that have typically been implemented in hardware (i.e. mixers, filters, amplifiers, modulators/demodulators, detectors. etc.) are implemented using software. While the concept of SDR is not new, the rapidly evolving capabilities of digital electronics are making many processes that were once only theoretically possible practical.
A basic SDR may consist of a computer (PC) equipped with a sound card, or other analog-to-digital converter, preceded by some form of RF front end. Significant amounts of signal processing are handed over to the general purpose processor, rather than done using special-purpose hardware. Such a design produces a radio that can receive and transmit a different form of radio protocol just by running different software.
Whilst JTRS focuses the key elements of SDR developments in the USA in particular, the technology is spreading outside JTRS and is being incorporated into military inventories across the world.
The supplier landscape has changed dramatically since the early ‘Big Bang’ approach of the late nineties with many seeing legacy suppliers as becoming ‘yesterday’s men.’
The greater use of satcom and particularly satcom-on-the-move systems through such systems as JNN and WIN-T, means that GMR has been relegated to a major component of JTRS rather than the backbone of the entire system using the WNW waveform.
The delays in the introduction of GMR has meant that companies such as ITT, GD and Thales have played catch up in the development of smaller, cheaper more flexible JTRS-compatible systems which may overtake some of the GMR roles.
Boeing is fiercely defending its GMR system which is still crucial to the success of JTRS. However as was said at AUSA two years ago, there now comes an important balancing act, numbers vs. cost.
In the early days after the initial JTRS wins by Boeing, BAE Systems, Harris and Rockwell Collins, these companies shares soared on the mouth watering numbers being talked up for JTRS, 100,000 upwards per Cluster.
Legacy providers such as ITT and Raytheon suffered accordingly, now it is all change with a more balanced view being taken with fielding stretching over the next twenty five years. The fielding will start with FCS under the Force Modernization fiedling and then spread over the rest of the Armed Forces.
With the more mixed and flexible approach there is a delicate balancing act being undertaken to keep the legacy SINCGARS and EPLRS radios in service until mid-century and buy a new suite of JTRS radios. The balance will be costs vs. numbers, less JTRS means higher cost per unit and vice versa. The eventual outcome will prove interesting.
JTRS
JTRS has moved a long way since its first conception in 1997, with the system requirements being matured into an operating system with the fielding of hardware now commencing, after a shaky start.
At the time of inception, JTRS was divided into five Clusters producing different radios for different applications. This proved too cumbersome and unworkable and JTRS was reformed into different radio technologies:
GMR: Main vehicle radio
JEM: JTRS Enhanced MBITR
HMS: Handhelds, Manpacks, and Small Form Fits
AMF: Airborne, Maritime, and Fixed Station
MIDS J: Multifunctional Information Distribution System
JTRS GMR
The JTRS GMR system, a key enabler of network-centric communications, offers a software-programmable radio system that provides secure, reliable, multi-channel voice, data, imagery and video communications for mobile military users. This system delivers transformational networked communications on-the-move at the tactical edge to support information sharing and combat readiness between service branches. It puts the full power of the Global Information Grid into the hands of the warfighter and takes network situational awareness beyond the Tactical Operations Center.
Ralph Moslener, Program Director of Boeing’s JTRS GMR segment told BATTLESPACE during AUSA that Boeing had begun initial production of Engineering Design Models (EDMs) of its software-defined Joint Tactical Radio System Ground Mobile Radios (JTRS GMR), meeting an important milestone in the plan approved by the program's Joint Program Executive Office (JPEO) in January of this year.
On hundred and eight pre-EDM JTRS GMR radios already are operating in test environments across the United States. Continuous program field testing also has provided an opportunity to assess the Wideband Networking Waveform (WNW), the backbone of the radio's Internet-like capabilities putting 58 into the FCS Program and 50 for Boeing for network development and testing.
The engineering models will undergo simultaneous field and system regression testing throughout 2008. As part of the plan, Boeing also will test and deliver incremental software releases supporting the JPEO and Future Combat Systems program. The EDM radio systems then will begin formal government certification and field testing in late 2008. The testing will continue until 2010 for a Milestone C decision in 2010 for LRIP Production of 1000 units. An interface into FCS will be developed in January 2009. The production contract will then be competed by Boeing between BAE Systems and Rockwell Collins.
In 2011 the two companies will bid for the larger production contract of up to 100,000 units.
In addition to the ongoing EDM work, Boeing, the government and industry officials kicked off the Capstone Critical Design Review (CCDR) Dec. 17 to review and validate the JTRS GMR radio system design. The CCDR is the culmination and integration of 30 individual hardware and software design reviews. These reviews are scheduled to conclude in the second quarter of 2008. The assessment caps a year of major program achievements, including the completion of several Preliminary Design Reviews (PDR), the Capstone PDR and individual CDRs for hardware and software elements. Boeing also has made multiple deliveries of the JTRS operating environment and waveform software to the JPEO information repository.
“Battlefield commanders need secure, real-time communications systems to improve situational awareness,” Moslener told BATTLESPACE. “The radio's ability to connect multiple nodes across a self healing, multi-channel network allows commanders to obtain data, images and video from multiple sources and provide it to troops on the move to make decisions quickly.”
The JTRS GMR system contains the infrastructure necessary to establish and maintain network operations. The system addresses the need for flexibility, allowing troops to enter or exit the network easily and configure the four-channel GMR with multiple simultaneous waveform combinations.
"Multiple legacy radios would be needed to deliver the same throughput capability of just one WNW channel on the GMR system, significantly increasing capacity to deliver critical information to the warfighter," added Moslener.
EPLRS
Jeff Jones, Manager Raytheon JTRS Programs told BATTLESPACE that the EPLRS integration forms a key part of the GMR radio development whilst Raytheon is also involved in the GD JTRS HMS Program.
“There are 18,000 EPLRS radios fielded in the U.S. Army, thus the system is a key enabler for the U.S. Army’s data communications system. EPLRS provides robust, on-the-move, high-speed, automated data exchange using a contention-free networking architecture. This guarantees speed of service to time-critical users.
The far-reaching capabilities of EPLRS apply to a wide variety of mission areas. Effective Air Defense demands the distribution of command and control information and the exchange of air track data. EPLRS is the reliable communication system selected to meet those demands.” Jones said.
EPLRS currently consists of a Network Control Station and radios that can be configured for manpack, vehicular and airborne use. EPLRS uses a time-division, multiple-access communications architecture to avoid transmission contention along with frequency hopping, error detection, and correction with interleaving. It also uses spread spectrum technology to provide jamming resistance.
Within the Army and Marine Corps EPLRS is the digital backbone for the ground forces which are linked via the Lower Tactical Internet. The Navy primary use of EPLRS is to provide Over-the-Horizon location and tracking of amphibious assault and logistics craft in support of Marine operations. Within the Air Force EPLRS is the data communication system used by the Situational Awareness Data Link (SADL) which provides the aircraft commander a heads-up display of friend EPLRS position on the ground and some aircraft status information. EPLRS waveform, by design, is highly jam resistant and bandwidth efficient. EPLRS uses a robust management system which maintains EPLRS network availability at 99%.
Fire Support benefits immensely from the system's ability to distribute artillery fire requests and mission support data to multiple destinations, simultaneously. EPLRS fulfills the Intelligence/Electronic Warfare's demanding requirements for collecting data from widely dispersed systems in the forward battle areas, and sending the information back to the combat force. The EPLRS network is a reliable system that automatically reconfigures itself to overcome the line-of-sight limitations of UHF communications as well as jamming threats. The data communication and position location-reporting and navigation functions of the EPLRS system play an integral role in Logistic Support operations.
JTRS Enhanced MBITR: JEM
There is little doubt that the JTRS JEM Program, formally Cluster 2, has had the smoothest development from concept to reality. Based on the Thales MBITR radio, the JEM radio produced by Thales Inc. now has all the enhancements required to take this radio to the next stage of JTRS.
Thales’ AN/PRC-148 JEM (JTRS Enhanced Multiband Inter/Intra Team Radio) has a Software Communications Architecture-compliant platform that hosts all of today’s key waveforms and ensures compatibility with the critical JTRS waveforms of the future. Further, the AN/PRC-148’s programmable cryptography meets the requirements of the National Security Agency’s crypto modernization program and is certified to protect the confidentiality of voice and data up through the Top Secret level. The only JTRS handheld radio to be designed, developed, and manufactured under a U.S. Department of Defense program of record, the AN/PRC-148 JEM has been tested, evaluated, and validated by the U.S. Government.
The AN/PRC-148 JEM is an evolution of the battle-proven AN/PRC-148 Multiband Inter/Intra Team Radio, or MBITR. The AN/PRC-148 is the smallest, lightest, and most widely-fielded tactical handheld radio in the world covering the 30-512 MHz frequency range. With the delivery of the AN/PRC-148 JEM radio, soldiers will benefit from the greater availability of this critical communications capability and from the radio’s commonality with the more than 55,000 AN/PRC-148 radios currently fielded with the U.S. Army. This unique commonality significantly minimizes changes to existing operational tactics, techniques, and procedures.
The AN/PRC-148, as well as ancillary equipment such as the dual radio AN/VRC-111 Vehicle Adapter Amplifier, is available to all U.S. military services under JTRS CISCHR Contract Number N66001-7-D-0107.
The Consolidated, Interim, Single-Channel, Handheld Radio (CISCHR) award in 2007 the US Department of Defense selected Harris and Thales Communications Inc. as the two contenders to compete for multiyear deliveries of new 'multiband radios' to the US armed forces, as part of Joint Tactical Radio System (JPEO JTRS). The Consolidated, Interim, Single-Channel, Handheld Radio (CISCHR) award has consolidated all handheld radio purchases for the U.S. Department of Defense, thus accelerating the transition to JTRS technology, while significantly reducing unit costs by allowing all participating agencies to purchase compatible JTRS equipment through the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) procurement authority.
Both companies are expected to deliver JTRS compliant systems, which will support existing waveforms (SINCGARS) and UHF line-of-sight communications supporting ground-to-air communications for close-air support and tactical satellite communications. The systems will feature JTRS Software Communications Architecture (SCA), thus accepting all future JTRS capabilities as they are fielded.
Under the CISCHR IDIQ contract, Thales and Harris compete for future awards of formal delivery orders, which will ultimately determine contract value. CISCHR has a one-year contract period with four additional one-year options. Currently, only Harris and Thales have JEM compatible radios. In the future more competitors will be added to the programs, as more systems from other providers will be certified as ready for fielding and compatible with JTRS and JEM.
In October 2007 Thales inc. announced two awards for its AN/PRC-148 JTRS handheld radio by the JPEO JTRS under the Consolidated, Interim, Single-channel, Handheld Radio (CISCHR) contract. These delivery orders will field almost 40,000 AN/PRC-148 JTRS Enhanced MBITRs (JEMs), as well as ancillaries, with an aggregate total contract value exceeding $128m. The most recent JPEO award was on behalf of the U.S. Army and was the first delivery order for the U.S. Army under the CISCHR contract.
“The AN/PRC-148 JEM provides warfighters with the proven outstanding performance and features of the MBITR they have come to expect, combined with the advanced capabilities and upgrade potential of the JTRS Program,” Walt Hepker, vice president of business development for Thales Communications told BATTLESPACE.
To demonstrate the smooth transition and development of this Program, Thales Inc. made a further announcement during this year’s AUSA.
Thales announced a contract award from the U.S. Government to upgrade its AN/PRC-148 JTRS Enhanced MBITR, or JEM, to incorporate the UHF SATCOM Integrated Waveform (IW) as defined by MIL-STD-188-181C, 188-182B, and 188-183B. Thales’ AN/PRC-148 JEM, which currently provides beyond line of sight (BLOS) communication in dedicated modes, will now be upgraded for compliance with the U.S. military standards that define the technical characteristics essential for interoperability and performance within UHF satellite communications (SATCOM) channels. This integrated capability will eliminate the need for warfighters to carry their existing heavy, manpack tactical radio systems and enable each member of the team to deploy with a fully-interoperable BLOS capability.
“This new capability is consistent with the evolution of the tactical radio,” Thales Communications told BATTLESPACE. “Thales is continuing with its successful history of being able to perform the functions of a heavy, expensive, manpack radio with a light, less costly, handheld radio.”
On January 16th 2008, Harris announced orders worth up to $26m from the U.S. Air Force to supply JTRS-approved Falcon® III AN/PRC-152(C) handheld tactical radio systems.
The AN/PRC-152(C) offers users a wide range of capabilities such as SINCGARS interoperability, ultra high-frequency (UHF) ground-to-ground line-of-sight communications, close-air support and programmable encryption.
Kevin Kane of Harris told BATTLESPACE that, “The AN/PRC-152 was developed by Harris using Private Venture money and is based on the Falcon III platform. It is a true software-defined radio in very sense of the word.”
JTRS Airborne, Maritime, and Fixed Station: AMF
The merger of JTRS Clusters 3 (Maritime and Fixed Station) and 4 (Airborne) is known as the AMF (Airborne, Maritime and Fixed Station) JTRS Program. Program leadership for the combined project will rotate between the Navy and Air Force at different points in the project, with the Air Force taking the lead initially. A combined request for proposal for the pre-system development and demonstration phase was sent to two competing teams from Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
AMF JTRS will network enable and provide interoperable communications for more than 160 platform types including fixed and rotary wing aircraft, submarines and surface ships, and fixed stations world-wide. The Lockheed Martin team's successful Network Centric Operations Live Flight Demonstration at the end of the Pre-SDD Phase of the Program showed a glimpse of the future with improved situational awareness, tactical voice, video and data interoperability, and communications automation. The system is modular and capable of operating on several different waveforms currently in use by the armed forces and adaptable to future waveforms and vehicles.
On March 27th 2008 Lockheed Martin Integrated Systems and Solutions of Chantilly, Va., was awarded a contract for $766,178,419. Lockheed Martin will develop 42 engineering development models of the small airborne configured system. While the initial engineering development models for the maritime sets will be configured for destroyers and the small airborne sets generically configured, there are options for additional sets configured for additional waveforms and weapons system platforms.
The system is intended for the following weapons system/platforms: CH47 helicopter, Blackhawk family of helicopters, apache helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicle class IV, Hercules family of aircraft, USMC operated helicopters and fixed wing aircraft; USN aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers, and submarines; USAF fixed and deployable ground command and control systems. The contract includes an option for low rate initial production of 45 maritime/fixed stations sets and 104 small airborne sets. Additional options allows for additional sets configured for additional waveforms and other weapons systems/platforms. At this time $75,248,162 has been obligated. Hanscom AFB, Mass., is the contracting activity
"Lockheed Martin is honored and excited to provide affordable, open, network-enabled, communications out to the tactical edge," said John Mengucci, president of Mission & Combat Support Solutions for Lockheed Martin's Information Systems & Global Services. "AMF JTRS extends net-centric warfare beyond the command center so this system is crucial to support information sharing and combat readiness, a must for today's warfighters."
The Lockheed Martin AMF JTRS team includes BAE Systems, General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman, and Raytheon. Work will be conducted at locations in Scottsdale, Ariz.; San Diego, Calif.; Tampa, Fla.; Fort Wayne, Ind.; Gaithersburg, Md.; St. Paul, Minn.; Wayne, N.J.; Charleston, S.C.; and Chantilly and Reston, Va.
On May 7, 2008, Raytheon announced that it will provide a critical communications solution for AMF.
Raytheon will co-lead the design, development and manufacture of the joint airborne radio of the JTRS AMF communications simulation efforts, and the company will design, develop and manufacture ancillary products for the system including power supplies and filters.
Raytheon will also lead the Army aviation platform piece of the contract with responsibility for overall integration of the communications systems on all Army aviation platforms.
“We have more than 40 years of experience solving the military's communications challenges,” said Jerry Powlen, vice president, Raytheon Network Centric Systems' Integrated Communications Systems. “Applying our systems integration experience and building on our communications expertise to deliver this solution assure our troops have the very best capability.”
JTRS Handhelds, Manpacks, and Small Form Fits: HMS
General Dynamics C4 Systems is leading the JTRS HMS Team to bring miniaturized software defined radio technology into small devices such as unattended ground sensors and soldier systems that can overcome size, weight and power constraints. The General Dynamics team includes BAE Systems of Wayne, N.J., Rockwell Collins of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Thales Communications of Clarksburg, Md.
JTRS requirements extend down the operational spectrum to all embedded applications. These applications include:
Intelligent Munition Systems
Unattended Ground Sensors
Sensor and Munition Gateway Radios
Unattended Ground Vehicle Systems
Soldier Systems
Weapon Datalinks
Small Unattended Aerial Vehicles
Handheld Radios
Manpack Radios
While these varied applications have different mission needs, they share common core requirements. The GD Small Form Fit Software Defined Radio architecture leverages these common requirements into a set of core modules. Core modules are combined, configured, and packaged for mission-specific needs.
This approach not only provides volume production and life-cycle-cost effectiveness, it further ensures waveform portability and interoperability cross platform.
The delays and changes made to the GMR Program have caused General Dynamics to offer innovative JTRS solutions based on its HMS technologies. By dint of the size required for these radios, GD has crammed considerable technology into a small space.
One solution shown to BATTLESPACE at AUSA was a two-tier HMS manpack solution which GD claim would perform the functions of the GMR radio at a lower price and considerably less power and space. Certainly the vehicle fit shown at AUSA took up far less space than the standard GMR fit and would be a lesson to GDUK with its current BOWMAN fit.
Conclusion
Whilst JTRS continues to mature, there are continuing exciting developments in software radios taking place outside the JTRS Requirement.
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