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2021-10-01

Can High Frequency Comms be a Game-changer in Satellite-Denied Environments?

As militaries worldwide look to modernise their forces to counter emerging and future threats, end users are rediscovering High Frequency (HF) radio technology as a robust Beyond-Line-Of-Sight communications capability. The technology provides enhanced interoperability and battlefield superiority in the Multi-Domain Environment.

For example, when equipped with HF manpack radios, tactically deployed forces in remote areas around the globe can communicate over distances of 3,000 kilometres or more, even in satellite-denied and Radio Frequency-challenged environments.

“HF communications are always available even in the most-demanding, austere, denied environments on today’s battlefield,” said Keith Norton, L3Harris Technologies Communication Systems vice president of Europe and Canada. “HF provides a primary option in a denied environment in addition to supplementing and reducing the burden on primary SATCOM systems.”

Modern HF communications assets deliver tactical advantage by allowing ground forces to remain on the move and in continual contact, transmitting both voice and data while additionally offering the resiliency needed in contested environments. Without risking exposure, teams can leverage the full extent of HF communication radios to covertly coordinate with ground and aerial assets, as well as Forward Operating Bases (FOBs), with voice, text, images, and other data, and even establish blue-force tracking capabilities absent of satellite connections and resilient against cyber threats.

New advances also include a resilient chat capability via ruggedised Android tablets, so soldiers won’t interface with the radio itself yet text in a common way.

L3Harris Technologies is on the cutting edge of advancements in HF communications. Through continuous innovation, the company’s radios and related equipment deliver new and enhanced capabilities possible with legacy HF radios to ensure warfighters have a resilient solution.

L3Harris leverages more than 50 years of engineering expertise to deliver new-generation wideband HF capabilities, including data speeds that are up to 10 times greater than other HF radios, giving warfighters the power to share higher-speed communications and more sophisticated Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance (ISR) through long-haul connectivity.

The company’s waveform technology, integration of 4G ALE and suite of modern HF accessories provide ground troops at the tactical edge of the battlespace the agility to effectively perform missions with speed when communicating with L3Harris’ Falcon family of radios. More than 135,000 radios within the Falcon II and III lines have been delivered to date and are fully interoperable with each other and future iterations of the product line.

Further, the potential for further Multi-Domain Operation collaboration increases as more military aviators incorporate High Frequency radios into their platforms for increased interoperability with ground forces.

L3Harris solutions, including the Type 1 AN/PRC-160 and Type 3 RF-7800H, provide military advantages such as crypto-modernisation enhancements, software-defined architectures for waveform and encryption updates and the ability to leverage existing infrastructure, all in a lightweight wideband HF radio.

AN/PRC-160(V) – Securing Comms

The AN/PRC-160(V) Wideband HF/VHF Manpack Radio is a standalone solution for Beyond-Line-Of-Sight communications in the absence of a satellite. This wideband system is also reportedly the world’s first and only HF manpack meeting all U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) crypto-modernisation standards. In addition, its software-defined architecture allows encryption updates, so mission-critical information stays secure.

The HF/VHF Tactical Radio System features software-programmable L3Harris Sierra II encryption, providing secure Type 1 interoperability among U.S., Coalition and Partnership for Peace forces. The manpack is compatible with L3Harris Falcon II HF gear, supporting immediate installation using existing L3Harris vehicular and base station equipment. This wideband HF manpack is small, light, fast and SWaP-optimised to increase battery performance while reducing warfighter battle load and fatigue.

FALCON III RF-7800H-MP – Providing Continuous Coverage

With expanded data capabilities for long-range, L3Harris RF-7800H-MP wideband HF/VHF Manpack Radio provides continuous coverage on the power of a single battery.

With its Falcon II interoperability, the L3Harris Wideband HF/VHF Tactical Radio System easily integrates into existing networks. It features extended range despite degraded communication channels and delivers last-ditch voice and SMS messaging in channels where legacy waveforms don’t work. In addition to its high-speed processing power, the RF-7800H-MP features a Software Defined Radio (SDR) architecture, enabling it to host future capabilities.

This SWaP-optimised manpack provides continuous coverage from 1.5 to 60 MHz, 20 watts HF and 10 watts VHF on the power of a single battery. Additionally, the system’s wideband waveform supports data transmission at rates up to 120 kbps in bandwidths from 3 to 24 kHz.

Embedded Citadel and AES encryption ensure secure communications. Also, high-performance Automatic Link Establishment and data link protocols support fast, reliable, and error-free data transfer – even under challenging channel conditions.

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