Vanguard Magazine

PERSPECTIVE MULTI-DOMAIN OPERATIONS WHETHER IT'S IN THE AIR, ON THE GROUND, AT SEA, OR EVEN IN SPACE – REQUIRES ROBUST, RELIABLE AND RESILIENT COMMUNICATIONS. T o achieve this, the Canadian Armed Forces require target- ed and strategic investment in capabilities that can be used both on domestic and inter- national military operations. It's for this very reason the CAF collaborates with pri- vate sector partners like Viasat to identify emerging needs and unique approaches to accelerate access to defence innova- tion, ensuring Canada keeps pace with this evolving technology trajectory. The Need for Agile Air Defence Given the vastness of Canada's territory, it is critical for the Canadian Armed Forces to rapidly deploy throughout Canada on a moment's notice. The Royal Canadian Air Forces makes this possible. However, while the necessity of ad- vanced tactical data links such as Link 16 within the RCAF is widely recognized, the resources being committed to estab- lish, operate and sustain these technolo- gies are insufficient. Before being replaced by the federal government's Defence Ca- pabilities Blueprint in 2018, the Defence Acquisition Guide envisioned improving the RCAF's existing tactical communica- tions system with an improved model un- der the 'Tactical Integrated Command, Control and Communications Air Project (TIC3 Air Project)'. According to archived DND/CAF documents available online, 16 APRIL/MAY 2021 www.vanguardcanada.com Sponsored Content the TIC3 Air Project would give the RCAF "the ability to network with differ- ent organizations, systems and platforms through data links, secure and non-secure communication systems." "While the TIC3 Air Project has been delayed since its inception, the original goals – the ability to seamlessly network with different platforms/nodes for multi- domain interoperability – still remain and are even more relevant in today's competi- tive environment," said Peterman. "Viasat still believes in these original goals. This is why we have been working closely with the RCAF to get them closer to achieving this mission, especially now that there's a stronger emphasis in government and pri- vate sector partnership." Viasat remains committed to the TIC3 Air Project because it aligns with the com- pany's problem-solving ethos. "We closely collaborate with our customers to identify capability gaps and understand the prob- lems to be solved," Peterman said. "We then leverage our technology leadership, agile development processes and flexible business models to accelerate the delivery of cutting-edge capabilities to support to- day's warfighter. TIC3 also aligns to Vi- asat's unique strengths in our other core capabilities of Satellite Communications, Tactical Data Links and Cybersecurity." With the RCAF's vision of every plat- form, be it piloted, remotely piloted or space-based, also acting as a sensor, Viasat is uniquely positioned to deliver the capa- bilities and unprecedented capacity that's needed to bring this vision to reality - en- suring the critical information and intelli- gence gets to decision-makers at the speed of relevance. Outfitting the CAF with a Link-Enabled Capability In the Canadian defence arena, Viasat is well known for its Link 16 capabilities – a military tactical data link that is utilized by coalition partners, allowing military aircraft, ships and ground forces to share a real-time common operational picture, providing 360-degree situational aware- ness on the battlefield. The Royal Canadian Air Force utilizes the Viasat KOR-24A Small Tactical Termi- nal (STT) on its CP140 Aurora aircraft for seamless airborne surveillance and C4ISR missions. Its dual channels allows the CP140 to stay in constant connection to the Link 16 network for tactical information on one channel, while supporting voice and data communications connect on the second. The STT is a vital component that con- tributes to seamless Link 16 tactical com- munications across U.S. and coalition forces, including 12 nations and 3 arms of the Canadian military. It is the world's only multi-channel, software upgradeable radio capable of supporting Link 16 com- KEEPING PACE WITH THE RAPID EVOLUTION OF TECHNOLOGY FOR MULTI-DOMAIN OPERATIONS

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