There is no internet connectivity or cell service in the remote locations frequented by American Special Forces, so they bring their own. Using a new generation of squad-based radio technology known as wideband tactical communications networks, our secret forces can call, text, or video conference from anywhere in the world. US Special Operations Command (SOCOM) recently announced that it has awarded an $18 million contract to Harris Corp for its next-gen Falcon III manpack (which generate and transmit the signal) and handheld tactical radios. These radio systems tap into SOCOM's wideband tactical communications network, which allows units in the field to exchange reconnaissance and tactical information over voice, video, or data feeds while providing commanders back at base with mission-critical updates as they happen. What's more, the radio's proprietary Adaptive Networking Wideband Waveform (ANW2) can produce 10 times the bandwidth of the Type-1 radios currently in the field. And unlike older wave forms—VHF/UHF, SATCOM, or SINCGARS for example—this network waveform can distribute data signals with information assurance protection and automatic routing across complex terrain.

What's more, these radios work with not only the older legacy transmission standards, but can also be used to bridge the networks of military and civilian radio systems in the event of a national disaster where local, state, and federal agencies all need to coordinate. And there is no shortage of the ways that information can be exchanged between units: video and image transmission, live chatting, situational awareness and mapping data, text messages, email—it can even extend connectivity to mobile devices. [Harris via Military Aerospace]Military radios were once associated with large backpacks full of heavy electronic equipment, all of which yielded limited operating functionality and reliability. But as wireless communications has advanced in the form of light-weight cellular telephones for civilians, it has also evolved into compact, highly reliable and secure portable radios for the battlefield—whether said battlefield happens to be on land, at sea, or in the air. Related Articles • Tactical Radio Earns Top Secret Certification • Board-Level Radios Available At 2.4 GHz • Encryption Keeps Tiny Radios Secure Tactical radios have incorporated anti-jamming functions, frequency hopping, software-defined-radio (SDR) technologies, and various battery/power technologies to enhance usability and reliability.

What follows is a sampling of some of the newer portable and man-pack radios for tactical use and other critical applications [such as search-and-rescue (SAR) operations], along with some of the technologies supporting these radios. marmot kosmo backpack reviewA firm long synonymous with tactical portable radios (as well as the cellular telephone), Motorola, has helped push the evolution of battlefield radios as much as any company. togepi backpack for saleAt present, Motorola Solutions USA is encouraging its radio designers to make use of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) components in their radio products to achieve performance and reliability levels needed for the battlefield at reduced costs. skybags fox laptop backpack

As an example, the SRX 2200 combat radio is built for the battlefield with COTS components but is also backwards- and forwards-compatble with all of the firm’s mission-critical radio systems. buy asus rog nomad backpackIt also meets the latest Project 25 (P25) standards for interoperability. coach backpack 0529P25 is a suite of standards for digital radio communications in North America that allows different government agencies to communicate. backpack recipe h1z1It is somewhat similar, although not interoperable, with the European Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA) protocol used in Europe. Using COTS components and technology, the SRX 2200 (Fig. 1) is designed for use in the harshest environments. It includes a receiver with 80-dB dynamic range, is compliant with US Department of Defense (DoD) standards for APCO  waveforms and encryption, and meets Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 140-2 Level 3 security for use in the most sensitive environments.

The radio offers a full suite of communications-ready features and applications, such as secure encrypted voice and text messaging and over the air programming (OTAP), a tactical over-the-air-rekey (OTAR) function, and individual location information (ILI). It meets MIL-810 specifications and exceeds the IP67 submersion specification (allowing it to be submerged under 2 m of water for 2 hours). Another name strongly connected with tactical radios is Harris Corp. The firm recently received orders from the US Air Force for Falcon III AN/PRC-117G multiband man pack and AN/PRC-152A multiband handheld tactical radio systems (Fig. 2). These wideband radios will help provide wideband networking capabilities to a wide range of US Air Force users. Both radios are equipped with the Harris Adaptive Networking Wideband Waveform, which is designed for interoperability among a wide range of radio systems and software applications. The radios are also certified to operate with the Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) waveform, and can also work with SINCGARS, HAVEQUICK, and P25 waveforms for secure tactical use.  

The AN/PRC-152A is truly a multiband radio, with traditional amplitude-modulation (AM) and frequency-modulation (FM) coverage from 30 to 512 MHz (12.5 to 25.0 kHz for narrow band) and 1.2 MHz for wideband operation with networking waveforms from 225 to 450 MHz. It uses 5 W transmit power for line-of-sight (LOS) use and 10 W transmit power when working in satellite-communications (satcom) mode. The radio can also test signals from 762 to 870 MHz with 10-Hz tuning resolution across all of the frequency ranges. George Helm, president of Harris’ US Department of Defense business unit, elaborates: “Harris’ Falcon III radios provide secure voice communications and enable operators to send and receive images, video, e-mails, text messages and even participate in teleconferences.’’ He adds: “The Air Force is deploying our JTRS-certified radios to provide two-channel communication capabilities. JTRS-certified wideband networking allows users to connect seamlessly to the Global Information Grid, a secure, classified version of the Internet.’’

The company has shipped more than 40,000 AN/PRC-117G and AN/PRC-152A radios to all branches of the US military and to more than 15 allied nations. Boeing has worked closely with the US Air Force in supporting the military branch’s combat survivor evader location (CSEL) program, with a new multifunction handheld radio designated the AN/PRQ-7 . It is capable of transmitting on at least 121.5, 243.0, and 406.025 MHz (the COSPAS-SARSAT satellite tracking SAR system). The radio system also received Global-Positioning-System (GPS) signals. The radio is designed to securely communicate position and text messages via a data link through the CSEL UHF SATCOM network. The AN/PRQ-7 portable radio is software programmable and upgradeable and can receive over-the-horizon (OTH) waypoints and text messages. It includes NSA-certified encryption and decryption of LOS and OTH messages. The radio, which works with a wideband flat blade antenna, is rated to withstand 10 m liquid submersion and operating temperatures from -20 to +55°C.