Seamless Communications between
military platforms and dismounted troops

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There are many and varied communications mechanisms necessary to support military operations. At the highest-level, joint operations combining land, air, sea and space assets that can exchange data to enable the planning and co-ordination of complex operations. Communications within each of these segments is equally important to overall success. This article explores the integration and development of a seamless network solution between dismounted troops and supporting vehicles to improve overall coordination and success of ground operations.

There are principally two architecture options to achieve connectivity between dismounted and mounted users:

1. The traditional approach to linking mounted and dismounted troops is that the dismounted commander also carries a V/UHF handheld radio to link into the standard vehicle V/UHF radios. This approach has advantages as it integrates directly over air to the vehicle radios and provides better range than a soldier personal role radio. However, handheld commander radios are expensive so are only carried by the commanders and historically have not been integrated with the lower-level soldier radios. This is evolving with better integration between the different radio networks and the use of VHF waveforms that provide simultaneous services to enable a full situational awareness picture.
2. The second approach is to integrate the soldier personal role radio or a specific vehicle soldier radio version into the platform. This provides direct connectivity for every soldier to the vehicle if required, not just commanders, but is limited in distance to the range of the soldier radio. Even putting a higher power soldier radio variant in the vehicle only provides extended range in one direction. This architecture is more suitable for some use cases where users deploy locally around a vehicle where the range is short and there is no need for the handheld VHF commander radio. The soldier radio in the vehicle can then be integrated with the vehicle intercom and vehicle bearers for rebroadcast.

The architecture also needs to address any security issues as it is likely that the vehicle network and the soldier networks are at different security levels. The solution may need to ensure that data from the higher security network is not passed to the lower network and that there is a clear indication when using the different networks, so voice or data is not inadvertently distributed on the wrong network.

The network needs to provide seamless, real-time communication services between dismounted soldiers and platforms, taking into account the different characteristics and constraints of the soldier and the vehicle. The main services are:

1. Secure Voice Communications - Voice is the most versatile service providing an immediate exchange of information, common understanding and decision making between platforms crews and dismounted troops. It is not necessary that all dismounted troops need to have direct voice communications with the vehicle. Typically, only the junior commanders (section leaders and 2IC) are in a vehicle net.
2. Blue Force Tracking - Regular reporting of troop locations is essential on the modern fast-moving battlefield, enabling vehicles to manoeuvre safely and reduce the potential of platforms engaging with dismounted blue forces. In this case it is better that all blue force locations are reported but these could be grouped rather than shared individually. Having the ability to choose to see individual locations can be beneficial, for example during a causality evacuation.
3. Data exchange between Platforms and Dismounted troops -
   1. Sharing enemy location details between mounted and dismounted users is an important use-case. This ensures all users have the same situational awareness to coordinate a joint operation or potentially for dismounted troops to utilise vehicle sensors or weapons directly.
   2. Exchange other Points of sInterest such as navigation way points, route planning and recce points.
   3. Text and picture files can be shared - perhaps pushing orders or other tactical details to dismounted troops or data gathered on the ground - pictures of suspects, captured documents etc.
   4. Warnings and alerts can be shared, for example, if sensors on the vehicle detect a threat such as a hostile UXV then an audio alert can be shared immediately with all dismounted soldiers located in the threat area and specific details can be sent to dismounted commanders as a data message - range, bearing classification etc.

In addition to the seamless exchange of data and voice between platforms and dismounted troops, there are other benefits to having a vehicle mounted soldier radio. A key benefit is that of range extension through the vehicle intercom and radios. Voice and data can be relayed from the dismounted soldiers to other platforms and HQs much further away using the longer-range platform radio bearers such as VHF, HF or SATCOM. This provides enhanced situational awareness through immediate feedback, allowing for faster decision making and planning.

A further advantage observed comes from positioning a MANET radio or antenna higher off the ground on top of a vehicle, sometimes referred to as an advantageous node. This radio provides a benefit for all users in the network as it enhances the range performance and network reliability.

Thales has a wide selection of dismounted and platform radios providing a mix of services and capabilities. To date, Thales has demonstrated and delivered solutions based around a two-tier dismounted radio architecture. Their SquadNet personal soldier radios are used at the lower tier, and handheld SYNAPS-H radios are used for dismounted commanders for direct over the air connectivity to the platform V/UHF radios.

Recently, Thales received a contract from an existing SquadNet customer to provide a Vehicle Mounted SquadNet Radio (VMSR). The customer wanted to implement the second architecture type with direct over the air interoperability between the dismounted troops using the SquadNet personal radio and the supporting vehicles. The objective is to extend the benefits of the SquadNet multiservice waveform with its low observability and MANET capability back to the vehicle.

The Vehicle Mounted SquadNet Radio provides all the functionality of the SquadNet radio but packaged in a form appropriate for vehicles. The VMSR is approximately 140mm x 140mm x 45mm in size, so it can be bulkhead or tray mounted in a vehicle with secure attachment points in case of blast damage. The product has an integrated power circuit compatible with vehicle power supplies. Dedicated connectors for intercom and data enable the product to be easily connected into the vehicle systems. Antenna connections are provided for GNSS and RF antenna connections.

There are several operational benefits making use of this seamless connection and services between platform and dismounted troops. One use case that is being explored is cueing vehicle sensors and/or weapons systems to support dismounted users. The vehicle provides a platform to carry additional and longer-range sensor than a dismounted soldier could carry. It can potentially provide much greater fire power and range than an infantry carried weapon as well as onboard computing and data links.

Vehicles could be crewed or uncrewed, but the data received by the vehicle from the dismounted commander can be used to cue weapons and sensors accurately and quickly to provide immediate support to the dismounted troops. For crewed vehicles, initially there is likely to be a crew member that receives the request from the dismounted commander and using the data provided will manually cue sensors / weapons. However, with some integration effort it will be possible that this cueing can be undertaken in the vehicle autonomously.

Either of the architectural approaches described above can support this use case and there are pros and cons of each in terms of range, security levels and equipment burden.

Thales recognises the need to provide options for communications systems as customers have different operational needs and scenarios. The addition of the Vehicle Mounted SquadNet Radio to the SquadNet family provides an alternative option for customers to consider when designing their network architecture. The extension of the SquadNet multiservice, low observable, MANET waveform directly into vehicles has operational, security, safety and force coordination benefits. This approach also potentially provides a mechanism for dismounted troops to cue sensors and weapons from unmanned supporting vehicles in the future.

For more information please visit:
http://www.thalesgroup.com