MUOS-Manpack PRC-155 connects C-17 with operations centre
A Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) satellite communications (SATCOM) demonstration has been conducted to connect an in-flight US Air Force (USAF) C-17 aircraft with a simulated airlift operations centre at Scott Air Force Base.
The aircraft and operations centre used MUOS-equipped AN/PRC-155 radios to exchange voice, data and flight status monitoring information using the MUOS satellite communications system as the C-17 flew over the Pacific Ocean.
The four-day demonstration, supported by General Dynamics C4 Systems, saw the MUOS-Manpack PRC-155 two-channel radios aboard the aircraft consistently send and receive secure voice and data communications, including in-flight position and location information, with the operations centre at Scott Air Force Base. The MUOS Manpack PRC-155 radio also used a loosely coupled airborne networking suite to route flight-path changes from the command centre directly to the pilot and aircrew, displaying the information on portable cockpit mission displays.
Data from the aircraft's flight computers travelled securely from the PRC-155 radio, over the MUOS satellite and down to the PRC-155 radio in the operations centre allowing Air Force personnel to watch the aircraft's flight on their mission tracking/status workstation displays.
Chris Marzilli, president, General Dynamics C4 Systems, said: ‘The air force reached out to General Dynamics asking us to demonstrate how the PRC-155 Manpack radio and the MUOS SATCOM system would work in an airborne C-17. The air force observers experienced the cellphone-like voice clarity during conversations with the flight crew and realised the powerful new voice and data capability this communications combination represents.’
The MUOS satellite communications system offers more than 10-times the data capacity of the legacy UHF satellite communications system that is more than 20-years old. To connect to the MUOS satellite system, radios, like the PRC-155, must have the MUOS communications waveform that is based on commercial cellular networks technologies.
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