The Airborne, Maritime and Fixed Stations (AMF) JTRS program will deliver a suite of software defined, multi-function radios for use throughout the Department of Defense, as well as potential use in the Department of Homeland Security. A single radio will be capable of operating on highly secure, high performance military tactical networks in net-centric operations. AMF JTRS radios will interoperate with legacy data and voice circuits used by the U.S., allied or NATO military forces, as well as communicate with civilian first-responder voice and data systems used in disaster relief and other national emergencies.
The Lockheed Martin AMF/JTRS team is currently under contract for the Pre-System Development and Demonstration (Pre-SDD) phase of the AMF JTRS competition. The AMF JTRS program is expected to be awarded in February 2007. The Lockheed Martin team includes BAE SYSTEMS, General Dynamics, Raytheon and Northrop Grumman.
In September 2006 Lockheed Martin completed a series of flight demonstrations of the AMF component of the US military’s JTRS. The tests consisted of eight consecutive dynamic segments, which demonstrated the ability to seamlessly integrate the waveforms into an interoperable network. The network will be able to support shared situational awareness information, enable interoperability between platforms out of line-of-sight, share streaming video and maintain wideband network quality of service.
The test involved various airborne platforms, including a helicopter, F-16 and simulated UAV which transmitted data and video in real-time using both new and legacy systems. The demonstration highlighted the ability to use the future systems utilizing elements of the Wideband Networking Waveform (WNW) and Solider Radio Waveform (SRW) and effectively integrate them with legacy aircraft equipped with Link-16 communications. Such integration yields “enhanced theater applications like the Theater Battle Management Core System, Distributed Common Ground System and Joint Tactical Observation systems” said John Mengucci, vice president and General Manager of DoD Systems for Lockheed Martin Integrated Systems & Solutions.
During the recent demonstration, ground and aerial nodes interfaced in a dynamic joint tactical Mobile Ad hoc Network using an enhanced version of the Ground Mobile Radio (GMR), WNW, SRW and Legacy Link-16 communications. Receiving sites were networked directly into the mission network through the government’s Defense Research and Engineering Network.
“We ported WNW and SRW on prototype Software Defined Radios to support dynamic routing, streaming video and cross-banding utilizing both IPv4 and IPv6” Said Lockheed Martin’s AMF JTRS Program Director Glenn Kurowski.
