Raytheon's One Force successfully demonstrated

Raytheon’s One Force communications solution has been successfully utilised during a recent US Army exercise at Fort Benning, Ga. According to a Raytheon company statement the system simultaneously transmitted data, voice and video over 3G and military tactical hand-held tactical radios for the first time without any interruptions in service.

According to Raytheon during the US Army Expeditionary Warrior Experiment (AEWE) soldiers were able to ‘see everyone's position in the group, talk over the networks, exchange data messages and view live streaming video from an unmanned aircraft system (UAS). They were also able to collaborate on their devices using a feature called ‘white boarding,’ which is similar to the tool that diagrams replays on televised football games. Pictures drawn on one smart phone or tablet were immediately communicated to all other devices in the network, even in the dense foliage at Fort Benning’.

The experiment was an important milestone for Raytheon’s tactical communications in providing a robust and reliable network with their high-speed Mobile Ad-Hoc Interoperable Network GATEway (MAINGATE). According to the company, with more than eight years of development and testing in many tactical environments, including Afghanistan, MAINGATE serves as a tactical bridge among groups, allowing soldiers to communicate, even when separated by trees and other obstacles. MAINGATE uses the Next Generation Mobile Ad-Hoc Network (MANET) Waveform, which has proven to be highly effective and efficient in challenging radio frequency conditions. OCEUS Networks provided the 3G mobile base stations that were integrated with MAINGATE for the experiment.