For far too long, mobile command tactical operations centers (TOCs) for land warfare included cables running between tables and tents, connecting the headquarters, requiring teardown and reestablishment of the network with each advancement.
L3Harris Technologies has created its RF-9800W High-capacity Wireless Tactical Networking Devices to remove the need of those “tent cities,” instead connecting all moving vehicles and increasing data flow between them. The system operates automatically without any user interaction or extended infrastructure, while still providing high levels of data throughput.
“As warfare changes and pace increases, the need for a data fabric and distributed command posts has grown dramatically,” said Chris Aebli, L3Harris president of Tactical Communications. “RF-9800W’s introduction to the tactical edge allows soldiers to have the same connectivity and access to information while stationary or on the move – even at high speeds, maintaining a continuous flow of video and data between one another.”
Operator Ease Like Never Before
Often, as the technology inside of radios increases, the cognitive burden placed on soldiers also increases, requiring troops to know more, adjust more and tweak more settings. For soldiers to effectively carry out their missions, their technology must be designed for seamless and user-friendly operation.
“As more capabilities are added to our tactical radios, we have to be mindful not to overload users with either too much information or too many things to optimize their radios functionality,” said Anthony Rodriguez, L3Harris Product Management lead. “With the RF-9800W, operators do not have to do anything additional or worry about how their communications get to where they need to go – it is all built into the processing power of the device.”
The RF-9800W’s cognitive abilities include combining continual spectrum sensing with adaptive frequency selection. This allows for optimized spectrum management during real-time environmental and adversarial electromagnetic interference.
Its intelligent capabilities reduce congestion – expanding spectrum usage, adjusting frequencies and node clusters – all without any human interaction needed.
“The RF-9800W provides something truly unlike anything else available today – and something we have desired to bring to the market for a long time: a cognitive network management capability that, by its nature, enhances the resiliency and power of our waveform portfolio,” said Aebli.
Power of the Platform
Operating on the CAMAN™ (Cognitive Agile MANet) waveform, the RF-9800W’s three different form factors – the RF-9800W-U, RF-9800W-E and RF-9800W-EA – deliver a multitude of features, all performing the same way and connecting with one another, whether as an embedded platform or a radiohead.
The RF-9800W is built on the foundation of the RF-7800W with the same focus on high-data throughput and adds MANET on-the-move capabilities to provide soldiers with worry-proof communications.
Like in the RF-7800W, a resilient waveform reduces the chance of adversarial intercept while an embedded L3Harris proprietary security suite and AES encryption or external device encryption secures user and data traffic.
In addition to its cognitive capability and on-the-move communication connectivity, the RF-9800W’s waveform selection, node clustering and channel-sizing is a unique solution that provides answers to problems identified by tactical communications users in recent years. In the future, L3Harris expects to further expand the RF-9800W’s resiliency options and the number of nodes that can access the network at the same time.
“Troops no longer have to think about setting up TOCs or ensuring their technology will connect properly,” said Rodriguez. “Instead, they can direct all their focus on the mission at hand, without worrying their communications might fail.”
