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02 Dec 21. DoD Kicks Off 5G Dynamic Spectrum Sharing Experimentation at Hill AFB. The Department of Defense hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony to commemorate the successful deployment of a private 5G cellular network at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, Dec. 2, 2021. Led by the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD(R&E)), and managed by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), the project will evaluate the technical feasibility, methodologies, and utility of spectrum sharing and coexistence with diverse 5G networks in a band of vital importance to commercial industry.
This event demonstrates the Department’s commitment to promote U.S. economic competitiveness in a beyond 5G era by offering DoD allocated spectrum for use by non-Federal (commercial) systems.
“Electromagnetic spectrum is a highly scarce resource relative to demand and U.S. commercial operators lag in access to highly desired mid-band, or 3-4 GHz,” said Deb Stanislawski, Director of OUSD (R&E) 5G Tranche Prototyping and Experimentation. “We must figure out how to share this band if we are to unleash a new wave of network innovation and break the global dependency on compromised 5G networks sold by state-subsidized, antagonistic peer competitors. These experiments are designed to rally both the Department and our industrial base to win at 5G and beyond.”
In total, 12 vendors, working in three lines of effort – 5G Testbed, 5G Applications, and 5G Network Enhancements – will perform for 39-months to develop spectrum co-existence system (SCS) solutions between Hill AFB’s private 5G network and airborne radars operating in the band (e.g., airborne warning and control system (AWACS)), as well as other DoD Spectrum Dependent Systems (SDS), including C-130 Station Keeping Equipment (SKE). Awards for this effort totaled $173m.
“These experiments illuminate the technology front on a very challenging spectrum sharing problem – how to share the limited spectrum between highly sensitive DoD assets and commercial networks,” said Dr. Sumit Roy, Director of OUSD (R&E)’s 5G Beyond 5G Thrust. “In particular, airborne system dynamics coupled with potential information asymmetries. Solutions to such DoD inspired scenarios, that lie significantly beyond current 5G commercial network deployments operating on exclusively licensed spectrum, promise to usher in the long-awaited era of automated, dynamic sharing.”
The private 5G cellular network at Hill AFB is aimed at experiments demonstrating the potential for dynamic spectrum sharing between airborne radar systems and 5G technologies operating in the 3.3-3.45 GHz band initially, with an upgrade to 3.1-3.45 GHz scheduled for May 2022. (Source: US DoD)
02 Dec 21. ADF supports delivery of Vanuatu’s national emergency radio network. The Vanuatu government’s emergency radio network has come online ahead of the high risk weather season, with support from the ADF. The Australian Defence Force recently partnered with the Vanuatu Police Force for the delivery of the Vanuatu government’s National Emergency Radio Network, which came online ahead of the country’s high risk weather season. The radio network is a critical piece of infrastructure for Vanuatu, providing connectivity between police across the country’s six provinces. The network enables the provinces to remain in communications throughout emergencies, and remain in contact with police headquarters and the National Disaster Management Office (NDMO).
“The devastation from Tropical Cyclone Harold in 2020 reinforced the priority of radio communications for Vanuatu,” Commander Deployable Joint Force Headquarters Major General Scott Winter said.
“This project will connect communities, enhance Vanuatu’s disaster resilience, and support an increased police presence.”
Robson Iavro, Vanuatu’s Commissioner of Police, outlined why the network was so crucial for the people of Vanuatu.
“I recall difficulty accessing the digital networks during these disasters,” he said.
“If this critical infrastructure was in place during that time, we would have been able to communicate critical issues during the time of emergency.
“It’s a lifesaver for everyone across Vanuatu in the event of the disaster.”
According to a release from Defence, signallers from the Australian Army have been collaborating with members from the Vanuatu Police Force since October 2020. Defence explained that the most recent rotation of 27 personnel completed their installation in late November.
The emergency network enables the police, who use VHF and HF radios, to raise communications with the network across the nation.
Contingent Commander Captain Todd Wilson explained that the recent collaboration with the Vanuatu Police Force will help protect local communities in emergency situations.
“Together the ADF and VPF installed new communications equipment and trained to establish a resilient emergency communication system across Vanuatu,” CAPT Wilson said.
“It will extend emergency 111 (000 equivalent) dispatch services, with coverage on Tanna and Malekula joining existing systems on Santo and Efate.
“This will facilitate daily police operations and expedite police response to emergency callouts.
“Upgrades now mean that if communications channels are disrupted during natural disasters, the VPF can still respond to calls for help, communicating with their command and the NDMO.”
Defence explained that the partnership was undertaken as part of the Vanuatu-Australia Defence Cooperation Program. (Source: Defence Connect)
02 Dec 21. The FancyBear cyber espionage organisation, 68 Guns. The FancyBear cyber espionage organisation is known by several pseudonyms. It is widely suspected as being part of Russia’s GRU military intelligence service Russia’s use of malware to target Ukrainian artillery marks an important step in the application of tactical cyber warfare. The UK’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory’s Operating in the Future Electromagnetic Environment (OFEME) symposium on 23rd/24th November gave a tantalising glimpse into Russian cyber warfare. The event, held in London and online, included a presentation by Duncan McCrory. Mr. McCrory, an engineer and PhD candidate at London’s Kings College, highlighted the use of a Russian cyberattack tool called X-Agent. This was part of his wider presentation on Russian cyber and electronic warfare, and information operations.
Mr. McCrory said that X-Agent was malware used to infect computers with the Android operating system used by Ukrainian Army artillery. He cited evidence from cyber security firm CrowdStrike that X-Agent had been deployed by a Russian cyber espionage group called Fancy Bear.
Fancy Bear has several other pseudonyms including Pawn Storm, Sofacy Group, Sednit, Tsar Team and Strontium. These appellations are used by various cyber security organisations. Government agencies including the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office stated with medium confidence that Fancy Bear was close to Russia’s GRU military intelligence service. Similar assessments have been made in the US. The Special Counsel Investigation on Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election flagged Fancy Bear as being the work of the GRU.
The use of the malware in a counter-battery role was identified by CrowdStrike in 2016. CrowdStrike’s analysis said that a Ukrainian artillery officer had developed a legitimate Android software application called Correction-D30. This was to ease fire control for the PJSC 2A18/D-30 122mm howitzers used by the Ukrainian Army. The goal was to reduce the howitzers’ targeting time from several minutes to under 15 seconds.
X-Agent is believed to have infected Correction-D30 allowing details of communications and location data to be stolen. CrowdStrike’s analysis determined that X-Agent may have been deployed from 2013. Russia commenced her intervention in Ukraine one year later. CrowdStrike estimates that the infection of Android devices used by Ukrainian gunners may have occurred from 2014.
The 2A18/D-30 122mm howitzer was deployed by the Ukrainian Army during Ukraine’s civil war. D-30 gunners were targeted by Russian X-Agent malware.
No information appears in the public domain regarding how X-Agent was inserted into these Android devices, nor was this discussed in Mr. McCrory’s presentation.
It is almost certain that this was done wirelessly. That would require an electronic attack to inject the malware into the Android device. Russia deployed a myriad of Electronic Warfare (EW) systems into the Ukraine theatre as part of her intervention. Armada has extensively chronicled these systems in previous articles. Ground EW systems would need a line-of-sight range to these devices to perform such an attack. As this could potentially place these platforms in range of Ukrainian artillery, these seem unlikely delivery systems. Ukrainian Army sources have told Armada that Russian ground-based EW assets are usually deployed far from the frontline. Instead, the Russian Army’s Special Technological Centre (STC) RB-341V Leer-3 EW system may have been used for this task.
The RB-341V Leer-3 comprises three STC Orlan-10 Uninhabited Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) equipped with EW payloads. Open sources states that these payloads detect emissions from wireless devices using GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) protocols. GSM frequencies inhabit wavebands of 900 megahertz to 1.9 gigahertz. The Orlan-10 has a published ceiling of over 16,000 feet (5,000 metres). This would give it a potential stand-off range of up to 205 nautical miles (380 kilometres). From some distance away, the UAVs could potentially detect transmissions from Android devices used by Ukrainian gunners. They could then infect these devices with X-Agent. Once infected, Russian gunners could use the stolen data to determine the position of Ukrainian artillery and employ counter-battery fire.
Implications
The use of X-Agent has significant implications. Traditionally, armies have relied on counter-battery radar, or air or land-based reconnaissance to find hostile artillery. Using malware adds another artillery reconnaissance method. In short, it gives armies and gunners more to worry about. Computerised fire control assists artillery no end and greatly accelerates the response to call for fires. However, while Correction-D30 was rightly seen as a strength for the Ukrainian Army, it paradoxically became a vulnerability.
The whole affair graphically underscores the importance of blue force emission control which was stressed by Mr. McCrory. He also emphasised the need for training in representative electromagnetically contested environments, and the development of joint cyber and electromagnetic resilience requirements.
Estimates by the IISS state that the Ukrainian Army may have lost up to 20 percent of their 2A18/D-30 inventory during the Ukrainian civil war.
Figures compiled by Henry Boyd, research fellow for defence and military analysis at London’s International Institute for Strategic Studies, graphically demonstrate Ukrainian artillery losses. Mr. Boyd states that Ukraine lost between 15 and 20 percent of her pre-war 2A18/D-30 inventory. It seems all but certain that X-Agent will have helped the Russian Army target these guns and their personnel. (Source: Armada)
01 Dec 21. ‘Confusion’ emerges as new weapon class for Air Force cyber warriors. Shooting down an aircraft or blowing up a target might not be the pinnacle of winning in future conflicts. Rather, sowing confusion among adversaries might be more associated with triumph on the battlefield, according to an Air Force official.
“I would argue, in this 21st-century battlespace that we’re preparing for, infusing that doubt, hesitation, that confusion is winning for us,” Brig. Gen. Tad Clark, director of the electromagnetic spectrum superiority directorate at the Air Force, or A2/6L, said during a presentation at the Association of Old Crows Symposium Nov. 30. “If we get the adversary … to stop for a moment, reassess if the odds are in their favor, try to determine if they can make a move or not and if it’s an advantageous time for them to do so or not, we’re slowing their decision matrix down.”
Achieving this type of confusion, however, is critically dependent upon superiority in the electromagnetic spectrum, Clark said, adding that superiority in the spectrum underpins every core mission within the military.
Non-kinetic capabilities will be crucial in realizing this type of confusion among adversaries and may even prevent shooting wars from occurring in the future.
Clark’s organization is helping the Air Force understand what capabilities could be available now and what investments to make, which will prove important as the military is facing tighter budgets going forward.
Created a couple of years ago, the directorate aims to provide unified oversight of electromagnetic spectrum issues from the headquarters Air Force level.
Gen. Charles Brown, chief of staff of the Air Force, has previously said, “In some aspects, an electron is much cheaper than a very expensive missile,” meaning the Air Force could realize some actual cost savings in non-kinetic capabilities.
He also explained at a conference earlier this year that such non-kinetic capabilities could “reign supreme,” according to Breaking Defense, adding , “Now we’re somewhere stuck in the thinking that mass needs to be physical. What if we did not have to produce sorties to achieve the same effect? What if a future small diameter bomb looks like ones and zeros?”
Clark noted that given the finite amount of funds, the service has to make sure it invests its money wisely.
“That’s what our directorate is trying to do. At the end of the day, winning for us is going to be when we see our Department of Air Force make investments in Air Force and Space Force types of capabilities that allow us to further technology, capability to get after where we need to be in the future,” he said.
To do this, Clark said his organization is trying to communicate to senior leaders what is in the art of the possible today, noting there are some great capabilities that currently exist.
One such capability set lies in the convergence between cyberspace and the electromagnetic spectrum.
“The connective tissue between cyberspace and the electromagnetic spectrum is amazing. There are tremendous capabilities that we can achieve now that allow us to get the desired end state, the desired effects, non-kinetic effects, for something that is pennies on the dollar,” he said. “It is something that we were wrestling with for a while trying to get our arms around all the things that fit in that line of effort and as we peel that onion back, there are a lot of examples of things that we can do both with cyberspace and electromagnetic spectrum that are, again, are repeatable, sustainable and affordable.”
While initially created within the A5 strategy section of the Air Staff, the directorate has now moved to the A2/6 section, which encompasses cyber and electromagnetic spectrum operations.
LEGOs and the future of spectrum warfare
Officials have consistently noted that they regard capabilities as a networked system of systems aboard several platforms that need to have the right concept behind them in order to be truly effective.
For the newly established 350th Spectrum Warfare Wing, connecting disparate capabilities spread across various platforms will be a key undertaking going forward.
Created in June, the wing will enable, equip and optimize the fielding of electromagnetic spectrum capabilities with the aim of providing a sustainable and competitive advantage in the non-physical realm.
As part of its role, its commander used the analogy of LEGO blocks as a means of connecting platforms and capabilities to make the most of resources in the inventory.
“The idea of where we’re going is really how can you put those LEGOs that exist on different aircraft together into on-demand, ad-hoc kill webs,” Col. William Young, commander of the 350th Spectrum Warfare Wing, said during the same conference.
Young explained that during a meeting, one group commander threw a box of LEGOs on a table and used the mobile application Brickit, which looks at all the different combinations of LEGOs on the table and provides a list of all the different things that can potentially be built.
“Put yourself in the position of an adversary who now thinks they have deep insight United States Air Force or entire Department of Defense but now has to face this,” Young said, referring to a futuristic state in which capabilities aboard platforms are LEGO pieces that can be reassembled and reconfigured in a number of different fashions. “We traditionally package our things at the platform level. What we’re talking about here with this is type of warfare is the ability to package at the subsystem level.” (Source: C4ISR & Networks)
02 Dec 21. Signal source analyzer from Rohde & Schwarz in operation at laboratories of US Air Force. AFMETCAL, the Air Force Metrology and Calibration Authority, has ordered signal source analyzers (SSA) from Rohde & Schwarz. They will be operated in AFMETCAL’s precision measurement equipment laboratories (PMEL’s) and Air Force primary standards laboratory (AFPSL). The signal source analyzers are used for calibration of phase noise analog (AM, FM & PM) and digital modulation measurements. For phase noise measurement Rohde & Schwarz has also provided cross-correlation offering very high sensitivity, flexibility and fast measurement speed — all in one box. The signal source analyzers are based on the R&S FSWP, a phase noise and VCO tester, and featuring very high sensitivity thanks to extremely low-noise internal sources and cross-correlation. Due to the low-noise internal local oscillator and a second receive path enabling cross-correlation, it is capable of measuring the phase noise of most commercially available synthesizers and oscillators without any additional options. The sensitivity increases depending on the number of correlations used. With a sensitivity of -166 dBc/Hz at 10 kHz offset at 1GHz the analyzer meets the US Air Force’s requirements. The SSA measures amplitude noise as well as phase noise. The results of both measurements can be simultaneously displayed in a diagram or in separate windows. The high-precision sources, in combination with cross-correlation, surpass the accuracy of diode detector-based measurements for AM noise, with a sensitivity up to 20 dB better. The analyzer’s high performance internal sources and largely digital architecture make it faster than test systems that digitize the signal after the phase detector. It takes just minutes to display the phase noise trace of high-end oscillators – a measurement that often took several hours in the past. The SSA platform is also a full-featured high-end signal and spectrum analyzer with a pre-selection up to 50 GHz and an 80 MHz signal analysis bandwidth for analysis of analog or digital modulated signals like required by the US Air Force. It is an all-in-one solution that allows users to easily switch between various measurement channels. Additional options such as pulsed phase noise, noise figure or ILS/VOR measurements, make SSA unique test instruments with a variety of instruments in a single box. Also, on the purchase were alignment systems and/or equipment or accessories required for periodic recertification and adjustment of the SSA. Rohde & Schwarz offers a future-proof concept to support long-term programs spanning many years.
02 Dec 21. Black Sage’s Goshawk long range electronic warfare jammer has passed an initial US Air Force evaluation. Goshawk is being evaluated to fulfill a USAF requirement to support training in GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) denied environments, according to a company press release. Goshawk can jam GNSS signals used by inhabited and uninhabited military aircraft. GNSS signals typically fall within a waveband of 1.1GHz to 1.6GHz. During the evaluation, Goshawk demonstrated it could jam GNSS signals at ranges exceeding 18.9nm (35km). (Source: Armada)
02 Dec 21. China Crisis. The PLA’s Strategic Support Force consolidates the People’s Liberation Army cyber, communications, electronic warfare, information operations, psychological warfare and space assets at the strategic and theatre/operational levels. Two recent reports evaluate China’s electronic warfare capabilities and their implication for Asia-Pacific security. The US Department of Defence’s (DOD) annual report to Congress on Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Taiwanese government’s National Defence Report were both published in November. They provide insights into the place of Electronic Warfare (EW) in People’s Liberation Army (PLA) doctrine. The latter report also gives an overview of planned EW modernisation in the Republic of China (ROC) armed forces. Both the DOD and ROC reports noted that the PLA continues to see EW as part of a joint approach comprising space and cyber operations supporting operations in all domains. These capabilities are folded into the PLA’s Strategic Support Force (SSF). The DOD report states that the SSF is a theatre-level organisation. It centralises PLA space, cyber, information operations, communications and psychological warfare capabilities alongside EW.
One can assume that in wartime the SSF would employ these capabilities at the operational/strategic levels. Tactical EW would probably remain the preserve of the PLA navy, air force and army. The DOD report says that operational/strategic EW falls under the SSF’s Network Systems Department (NSD). This is alongside cyberwarfare, technical reconnaissance and psychological warfare. Grouping these capabilities under one command “is a crucial step towards realising the operational concept of integrated network and electronic warfare that the PLA has envisioned since the early 2000s.”
The PLA has five Theatre Commands (TC) mirroring their geographical location namely the Western, Southern, Eastern, Central and Northern TCs. The DOD report says that each has an NSD technical reconnaissance base, several signals intelligence bureaux and affiliated research institutes. The NSD provides each TC with a common intelligence operating picture. This thought to be shared downwards to TC sea, land and air units at the tactical level.
This graphic demonstrates how the People’s Liberation Army sees wideband electronic attack being harnessed to support ground forces.
The DOD report assumes that the PLA will use electronic warfare prior to a conflict most likely to deter potential adversaries. EW would also be a key component in any PLA blockade against Taiwan. In particular, the PLA is said to have taken a keen interest in jamming GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) signals and fighting in a GNSS-denied environment.
Training emphasises units’ understanding of EW capabilities and how to fight effectively in a heavily congested and contested electromagnetic environment. The DOD report says that these exercises routinely test new EW systems, and electronic warfare tactics, techniques and procedures. The ROC report adds that energetic EW training is observed in the People’s Liberation Army Air Force. Moreover, the collection of Electronic Intelligence (ELINT) by the PLA in the maritime domain is evident. Specifically, the PLA routinely performs maritime ELINT collection in the Taiwan Strait. This is probably to collect ELINT germane to ROC naval and coastal surveillance radar.
The DOD report details the PLA’s pursuit of space EW weapons. It mentions jammers designed to attack uplinks and downlinks used by satellites. The report also highlights the Shenyang J-15D electronic warfare aircraft. This is outfitted with internal and external pod-mounted electronic warfare systems. Media reports in early November stated that the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) has begun testing the J-16D. The aircraft’s main mission is thought to be air defence suppression.
Made in Taiwan
The ROC’s report gives an important insight on how the country will strengthen its EW capabilities. It states that electronic warfare writ large will be enhanced as a key part of Taiwan’s military strategy. This will be done alongside the enrichment of information and communications capabilities. The ROC armed forces see electronic warfare through the joint prism. The report notes that the country’s armed forces have “integrated all capacities to manage … electronic spectrum (data) and analyse electronic parameters.” A robust approach to electronic protection is also being taken. This focuses on “constructing a sound electromagnetic barrier in the vicinity of the Taiwan Strait (and) strengthening our countermeasures against electronic interference.”
From a procurement perspective, the ROC government says it will obtain command and control systems to fuse information and electronic warfare capabilities. New EW pods are planned for the ROC Air Force’s (ROCAF) General Dynamics/Lockheed Martin F-16A/V Fighting Falcon combat aircraft. Meanwhile, existing EW platforms and systems will be upgraded. The ROCAF flies a single Lockheed Martin C-130H electronic warfare aircraft. In June Armada identified a pressing need for new signals intelligence aircraft to replace this C-130H. We also noted that the ROCAF’s existing Thales ASTAC ELINT-gathering pods equipping the ROCAF’s Dassault Mirage 2000-4EI jets need replacing.
New EW capabilities in the offing for Taiwan could include electronic warfare pods to replace the ASTAC systems currently in service with the ROCAF.
Continued PLA investments into EW capabilities, alongside the importance of electronic warfare in PLA doctrine, continues to generate concern within and without the Asia-Pacific. The ROC’s report indicates that Taiwan is taking China’s electromagnetic challenge seriously and is responding in kind. This should prompt other nations in the region to examine their own electronic warfare capabilities and whether they should follow suit given the growing China threat. (Source: Armada)
01 Dec 21. Defense Official Says Electromagnetic Spectrum Superiority Is Vital to Security. For decades, the United States has had electromagnetic spectrum superiority over adversaries in all domains. But that superiority can no longer be taken for granted, said a Defense Department official.
China and Russia have invested heavily in ground-, air- and space-based technologies to use spectrum for themselves and deny it to others, Kelly Fletcher, performing the duties of DOD’s chief information officer, told attendees of the Association of Old Crows 58th Annual Symposium and Convention in Washington. For instance, China has invested in sensors and jammers, and Russia is modernizing its spectrum-related equipment.
Spotlight: Science & Tech
“Our adversaries know how important this technology is to us,” she said. “We know we have some vulnerabilities, and our adversaries know about them, and they’re going to try to take advantage of them. What really makes me concerned most, frankly, is that there are probably vulnerabilities that we don’t know about and that our adversaries are trying to find.”
Fletcher said that retaining electromagnetic superiority requires a whole-of-nation approach. That includes:
- Partnering with industry and academia, as well as with allies and partners.
- Partnering with other government agencies, such as the Federal Communications Commission and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.
- Engaging with international bodies, such as the International Telecommunications Union and the World Radiocommunication Conference.
- Working with the commercial sector to enable a 5G network, including spectrum sharing.
- Breaking down barriers between spectrum managers, communicators and electronic warfare practitioners, then unifying these activities under a broad banner of electromagnetic spectrum operations.
- Developing superior electromagnetic spectrum capabilities by investing in research and development for systems that sense, assess, share, maneuver, survive in complex spectrum environments, interoperate with other platforms and are easily upgraded.
- Building robust electromagnetic battle management capabilities to monitor, assess, plan and direct spectrum operations, including disruptive technologies.
- Integrating spectrum into operations and plans and providing robust testing through rigorous exercises.
- Recruiting, training and retaining a highly skilled military and civilian workforce.
- Increasing total force readiness by ensuring all DOD personnel are at least somewhat familiar with the department’s Electromagnetic Spectrum Superiority Strategy, which is unclassified and can be found online.
(Source: US DoD)
01 Dec 21. U.S. Air Force Collaborates With BAE Systems on Leading-Edge Enhancement to Compass Call Platform. The U.S. Air Force has collaborated with BAE Systems to cross-deck the company’s advanced Compass Call electronic warfare system onto its next-generation electronic warfare aircraft. It is a critical upgrade for the EC-37B Baseline 4 platform that comes on the 40th anniversary of Compass Call, and is facilitated by BAE Systems’ Small Adaptive Bank of Electronic Resources (SABER) technology.
The SABER system transitions from hardware to software-based electromagnetic spectrum warfare capability on Compass Call. The system is built on a suite of software defined radios using an open system architecture and will provide the backbone of the EC-37B’s operating system.
“This is a leading-edge upgrade that integrates third-party apps, giving aircrews the capability to respond to threats faster than ever before,” said Pam Potter, director of Electronic Attack Solutions at BAE Systems.
Compass Call is an airborne tactical electromagnetic attack weapon system that disrupts enemy command and control communications, radar, and navigation systems. The sophisticated mission system, developed and produced by BAE systems, has provided key jamming capabilities on the EC-130H since 1981, and will leverage that technology for the upgraded EC-37B platforms. The development of Compass Call Baseline 4 is taking place at BAE Systems’ state-of-the-art facilities in Hudson, N.H., Nashua, N.H., Burlington, Mass., San Diego, Calif., and Dallas, Texas. (Source: BUSINESS WIRE)
24 Nov 21. C4 EDGE partner Solinnov demonstrates mesh radio. Adelaide based C4 EDGE partner Solinnov, has successfully demonstrated the mesh capability of its BlueBottle multi-mission software-defined radio, capable of RF signal detection and countermeasure generation, based on a novel flexible architecture. Solinnov’s BlueM infrastructureless network was used to demonstrate a Blue Force Tracking scenario and the geolocation of emitters at an event attended by representatives from Army Headquarters (Land C4), DST Group, electronic warfare company DEWC, and fellow C4 EDGE partners Shoal Group and Acacia Systems. Traditionally, cellular 4G would be used for networking to demonstrate geolocation capability but that has limitations as the infrastructure is not always readily available. A BlueM network is a self-forming and self-healing network made up of BlueBottle radios, each one integrated with a transmit-receive module and an antenna, using Solinnov’s Halite orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing waveform.
Matt Jones, CEO for EOS Defence Systems (Australia) said, “Solinnov is one of Australia’s most innovative communications companies. Their ability to design and implement their Halite waveform offering infrastructureless mesh radio communications, dispel the myth that Australian industry does not have the capability to develop sovereign waveforms in this country.”
“We expect this technological innovation, successfully demonstrated by Solinnov in SA, to be just the first of many technology spin-offs of the ground-breaking C4 EDGE program, sponsored by the Australian Army”, Jones said.
Solinnov plans to continue to enhance the network to be immune to electronic warfare, making it harder to detect, geolocate and jam. There are also plans to extend the capability to become an adaptive radio that optimises to the operating environment. Solinnov recently secured a $1.4m contract with the Defence Innovation Hub to develop a portable radio frequency monitoring solution through the development of machine learning technology to identify, classify and locate radio frequency emitters in complex operating environments. (Source: Rumour Control)
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Spectra Group Plc
Spectra Group (UK) Ltd, internationally renowned award-winning information security and communications specialist with a proven record of accomplishment.
Spectra is a dynamic, agile and security-accredited organisation that offers secure Hosted and Managed Solutions and Cyber Advisory Services with a track record of delivering on time, to spec and on budget.
With over 15 years of experience in delivering solutions for governments around the globe, elite militaries and private enterprises of all sizes, Spectra’s platinum and gold-level partnerships with third-party vendors ensure the supply of best value leading-edge technology.
Spectra was awarded the prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise (Innovation) in 2019 for SlingShot.
In November 2017, Spectra Group (UK) Ltd announced its listing as a Top 100 Government SME Supplier by the UK Crown Commercial Services.
Spectra’s CEO, Simon Davies, was awarded 2017 Businessman of the Year by Battlespace magazine.
Founded in 2002, the Company is based in Hereford, UK and holds ISO 9001:2015, ISO 27001:2013 and Cyber Essentials Plus accreditation.
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