Northrop Grumman successfully demonstrates MR-TCDL capabilities during Valiant Shield exercise

Northrop Grumman Corporation supported Valiant Shield 2010, successfully demonstrating capabilities of the Multi-Role Tactical Common Data Link (MR-TCDL) system to provide real-time networking connectivity and exchange data at extremely fast rates via ground, airborne and satellite networks.

The US Pacific Command exercise was a 10-day integrated joint military exercise among US military forces, conducted in September near Guam.

During a series of 11 flights, MR-TCDL used both line-of-sight and Wideband Global Satellite (WGS) data links to transmit real-time data to Valiant Shield operations center personnel participants at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, and Anderson Air Force Base, Guam.

The MR-TCDL system is built by L-3 Communications Systems-West, Salt Lake City. Northrop Grumman was also supported by Orion Aviation Group of Phoenix.

For the exercise, Northrop Grumman integrated MR-TCDL onto a Gulfstream II aircraft and a US Department of Defense Gateway Teleport at Wahiawa, Hawaii, creating a terrestrial network to connect the Gateway Teleport, Hickam Air Force Base and Anderson Air Force Base. The tests demonstrated the system's ability to reliably transmit data at rates greater than 200 megabits per second between the aircraft and ground sites, dynamically switching data paths between line-of-sight and WGS as necessary to maintain near constant connectivity.

MR-TCDL also enabled high-definition video teleconferencing between aircraft and ground sites, transfer of instant messages, streaming video, voice over IP connectivity and file transfers between sites.

Northrop Grumman supported Valiant Shield under contracts for both the US Army Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center Intelligence and Information Warfare Directorate and the US Air Force Research Laboratory.

"MR-TCDL performance exceeded exercise expectations," said Claude Hashem, vice president and deputy general manager of the Network Communication Systems business unit of Northrop Grumman's Information Systems sector. "The exercise proved MR-TCDL is a terminal that provides high-bandwidth capability to support real-time data transfer to the warfighter while in parallel providing the means for instant and continuous communications among decision makers.

"Having the ability to instantly change the data path from beyond line of sight to line of sight also provides necessary capability redundancy to assure quality of service," Hashem said.

The Air Force Research Laboratory awarded the 7-month, $5.1 million Valiant Shield support contract to Northrop Grumman's Information Systems sector in June 2010.

Source: Northrop Grumman

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