Industry Recon
Harris provides a digital intercom system for Air Force ground vehicles. Exalt Communications offers a new series of ruggedized microwave radio systems. The National Security Agency certifies that the Sectéra Edge smart phone is compliant with the Secure Communication Interoperability Protocol. And Citrix supplies TCS with an applications accelerator to meet the needs of Army satellite communications.
Digital intercom
Harris will deliver tactical multiband radios and a new digital intercom system to the Air Force for use in Humvees under a $13.5 million order, company officials said.
The new RF-78001 Tactical Intercom System offers vehicle crews modular, interoperable voice and data connectivity in the vehicles. Crew members can also use the system’s networking feature to communicate with personnel on the ground, in other vehicles, and at command centers via high-frequency, very-high-frequency, ultra-high-frequency, multiband and Broadband Global-Area Network satellite communications technology.
The intercom system essentially serves as a vehicular command and control center by unifying technologies that connect crews to a broader battlefield network, Harris officials said.
The company will also furnish its Falcon III AN/VRC-110 multiband, multimode radios for use in the Humvees.
Rugged microwave radio
Exalt Communications has added a new product to its portfolio: a series of microwave radio systems that can be used under rugged battlefield conditions.
The Exalt EX-4.5r Series GigE is designed for military and NATO customers that hold licenses for the 4.5 GHz band, company officials said.
It is specifically designed for warfighters and commanders deployed in terrain where it is difficult to obtain radio frequencies.
The series provides native time-division multiplexing and native Gigabit Ethernet transport with as much as 440 megabits/sec of capacity at distances that exceed high-capacity millimeter wave radios, including E-band systems, Exalt officials said.
The Exalt system offers 500 MHz of spectrum coverage with 1 MHz frequency tuning, variable channel bandwidth and modulation, and interference rejection in bad weather and harsh environments.
Military customers can choose to have the Exalt EX-4.5r Series GigE equipped with integrated or external antennas. The external antenna model is better suited to longer range and permanent deployments.
NSA-certified smart phone
The National Security Agency has certified the Sectéra Edge Release 2.0 smart phone as compliant with the Secure Communication Interoperability Protocol. The smart phone has also achieved compliance with the High Assurance IP Encryptor (HAIPE) interoperability specification for secure interoperability with in-line encryption devices that protect information on the Secret IP Router Network, said officials at General Dynamics C4 Systems, developers of the Sectéra product line.
Much like a commercial personal digital assistant, the Sectéra can synchronize with functions on a user’s PC, such as calendars, address books and calculators, company officials said. The Sectéra runs on Global System for Mobile Communications and Code Division Multiple Access commercial cellular networks, including AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon.
Release 2.0 is approved to work with earlier Sectéra Edge devices, the officials said. It improves overall performance by adding features such as HAIPE preplaced key and multicast capability for networked, tactical communications; operation as a secure wireless modem for moving information between two computers; mode switching from secure voice to data, data to voice or between security levels without reinitiating the call; and full Web-browsing capabilities.
Satellite communications accelerator
Citrix Systems will provide Army contractor TeleCommunication Systems with a technology approach known as WANScaler, which is designed to accelerate application delivery via satellite communications to commanders and warfighters worldwide.
TCS will use WANScaler on the Army’s Secure IP Router and Non-secure IP Router Access Point program, Citrix officials said.
TCS will integrate Citrix WANScaler into SIPR/NIPR Access Point network packages designed to support military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the officials said. TCS received a delivery order from the Army to provide about 1,500 terminals and support equipment for deployment during the next several years.
WANScaler supports Space Communications Protocol Standards and uses flow control capabilities to deliver data and applications and produce optimal satellite communications for warfighters on the front lines. WANScaler will help the Army make better use of its tactical terrestrial and wireless IP network by automatically optimizing traffic loads, the officials said.
The Commercial Satellite Terminal Program, overseen by the Army Project Manager for the Warfighter Information Network-Tactical, is funding the work.