Preserving capacity, General Tom Lawson, Chief of the Defence Staff, Keys to Canadian SAR
Issue link: http://vanguardcanada.uberflip.com/i/679566
Smart radioS T Talking Tech 32 APRIL/MAY 2016 www.vanguardcanada.com Thales AN/PRC-154B Rifleman Radio Modern solutions that support the military's 21st century demands T hales tactical radios combine soft- ware-defined architecture and MA- NET waveforms. Tactical radio systems in the re- cent past were single-purpose, narrowband solutions designed to address specific missions with a primary focus on secure voice commu- nications. These solutions suitably provided critical voice communications in support of the "fighting doctrine" of the time. Today's geo-political climate and the asym- metric nature of current military operations which include peace-keeping, counter insur- gency, and counter terrorism have rendered legacy communications solutions inadequate. Moreover, the Canadian Army's future employ- ment concepts based on adaptive, dispersed operations are challenging current capabilities and drive the need for increased communica- tions range and capacity. New tactical radio requirements seek to embrace advances in tele- communications technologies and emphasize data-centric applications including text/SMS, situational awareness, command and control (C2) and video transport. Current tactical radio solutions incorporate a software-defined radio architecture which eases the portability of multiple waveforms and more readily supports multiple applica- tions. These multi-function radios provide legacy secure voice communications but also provide spectrally-efficient wideband mobile adhoc networking (MANET) waveforms that allow soldier's to connect to the network from the tactical edge. Being part of the tactical network, soldiers are able to share sensor, C2 and navigation data thereby providing a more complete picture of the battlespace or Common Op- erational Picture (COP). This ability to more readily acquire information over the network and the improved situational awareness this provides ensures our armed forces retain the decisive advantage on the battlefield. The Rifleman radio The United States Army and its key allies (5-Eyes and others) are now looking to the Rifleman radio, a small and light single-chan- nel radio to deliver the lower-tier tactical net- work to the individual soldier. The Rifleman radio is designed to provide