NATO armed forces have called for more mobility, maneuverability, interoperability, and reduced setup time for tactical command posts. To meet those objectives, command post programs are moving away from large complexes relying on multiple tents, to architectures based on vehicle-mounted communications shelters utilizing wireless technologies. This new approach promises to dramatically reduce the setup time associated with constructing tents and data-center-like infrastructure, as well as laying thousands of feet of cable. To make this happen, programs are looking to small form factor, rugged, commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) technologies that fit within limited spaces and provide wireless network access inside vehicle shelters and between vehicles.
At the same time, allied armed forces are seeking more robust secure network solutions that improve command post survivability and provide optimized network traffic. To meet those objectives, network architectures are moving from hub-and-spoke network architectures to state-of-the-art meshing architecture solutions.
In addition to their speed of deployment, another advantage of wireless networking is that it can deliver true network resiliency. The use of mesh topologies can eliminate the threat of a single point of failure. Unlike hub-and-spoke network architectures, the loss of a single node or access point in a mesh network won’t result in the loss of the entire vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) network.
What’s more, military wireless networks can be secured through the proven use of NSA approved Commercial Solutions for Classified (CSfC) encryption for integration between U.S. and Coalition Networks, and by providing an open, robust, and proven security and information assurance (IA) architecture that delivers classified network access to NATO members. Curtiss-Wright has recently expanded its support for truly resilient mesh network-based V2V tactical edge communications with the addition of two-layer CSfC encryption to protect critical data. CSfC is a set of approved architectures using two layers of commercial encryption (as opposed to Type1 military only encryption) for access to classified networks. The layers, software and/or hardware, must be developed independently and validated to international Common Criteria standards. Today, it is possible to rapidly set up a mobile, extendable, wireless network qualified to TRL9, using Wi-Fi 6. This enables multi-hundreds of megabits of throughput to be rapidly deployed in the field or easily pivoting to cellular or other LOS/BLOS transports for LPI/LPD.
A mesh network, which can exist in many different topologies and come in a variety of formats, can route across the network with direct hop, single hop, or multiple hop data distribution to connect any two nodes on the network. For wireless meshing, many in the military think of MANET radios. While MANET radios support various meshing topologies, modern implementations of venerable 802.11 Wi-Fi do as well. A major advantage of Wi-Fi is its low hardware cost. Even in rugged and outdoor applications Wi-Fi benefits from true commodity pricing. MANET requires each operator to have their own MANET compatible radio, which is fine for handheld communications. It’s less than ideal, though, for data based comms which requires the user to plug-in into a laptop or tablet already equipped with Wi-Fi hardware.
Even though commercial Wi-Fi solutions typically feature support for mesh network topologies, not all commercial equipment supports NSA requirements for CSfC encryption of data-in-transit and frequently they do not support all military software applications, many designed years before wireless battlefield networks became possible. Commercial Wi-Fi can provide a short cut for setting up an unclassified network, but it’s not going to get you to a secret or higher network.
True Vehicle-to-Vehicle Secure Network Connectivity
Curtiss-Wright deploys CSfC based Secure Wireless Command Posts with the U.S. Army and internationally working with NATO members’ cyber and IA authorities. Typically, a secure wireless command post system is installed on each vehicle. This enables each vehicle to operate independently, but also results in duplication of equipment and sub-optimal size, weight, power and cost (SWaP-C). Also, with each system operating independently, operators and devices can’t roam between systems without being pre-registered.
Secure wireless mesh networks deliver a leap forward for battlefield distribution of data connections, since warfighters can setup a wireless network that provides connectivity between vehicles, as well as a “bubble” for broadcasting to end-users. SecMesh enables V2V mesh communications, along with the ability to do tunnel-in-tunnel encryption. SecMesh technology can mesh vehicles together, establishing multiple east/west bound network connections, along with multiple backhauls in case a vehicle is lost. Users registered with one wireless system can roam between all of the wireless systems on the connected battlefield. The next step will be true vehicle secure network connectivity V2V while on the move. This capability has already been demonstrated in the field and development for higher on-the-move throughput continues.
The recently introduced PacStar Secure Meshing Command Post (SMCP), believed to be industry’s first V2V mesh network tactical communications solution to offer secure two-layer encryption, is an example of a SecMesh network in the battlefield today. Typically, setting up a mesh network topology can be complicated because many legacy applications have built-in assumptions about the network on which they will operate. That puts the burden on the network designer and network maintainer to hide the true nature of the underlying network. Manual setup might take hours, which undermines mission goals to optimize mobility and reduce network setup to minutes in the field. Network management software, such as PacStar IQ-Core Software, can greatly expedite the process, eliminating the need for the system manager to manually set each individual node on the network.
Our SecMesh approach is modular and can be deployed in extremely harsh environments. Users can select the hardware form factor that is appropriate for the mission, whether this is a communications vehicle with an enclosure for tactical networking hardware or a more combat focused vehicle, land or amphibious, that requires fully sealed electronics made possible by a SOSA Technical Standard aligned design based on VPX hardware.
The PacStar SMCP brings cryptographic security to transport agnostic V2V mesh network tactical communications, meeting growing demand for secure warfighter mobility while providing secure, encrypted V2V access to classified networks at the very edge of the tactical network. PacStar SMCP is a key component of a modern vehicle mounted command post program. This small modular, COTS communications package enables remote command post and network support vehicles to communicate with primary command post vehicles over mesh wireless networks.
Based on Curtiss-Wright’s popular PacStar 400-Series family, the highly flexible PacStar SMCP delivers the agility, mobility, and resiliency needed to help realize the U.S. Army’s Command Post Integrated Infrastructure (CPI2) vision for a mobile vehicle-based command post environment. What’s more, the PacStar SMCP is transport agnostic and can support any wired or wireless network transport, including Wi-Fi, millimeter wave, satellite, and 5G cellular, as well as traditional hardwired cabling if desired. The system’s modularity speeds and simplifies the integration of new capabilities as requirements evolve, without needing to retrofit the core system.
PacStar SMCP provides Central Site encryption, PKI and management services for the entire fleet of connected vehicles. It uses layered IPsec VPN gateways over meshing radio, enabling the transport of one or more classified and/or unclassified networks between themselves and the Command Post Support Vehicle.