US Space Force increases efforts to plug training capabilities gaps
The service has been seeking simulation and emulation solutions capable of reproducing multiple in-orbit threats.
Rockwell Collins has completed qualification testing on the AN/PRC-162 for the US Army’s Handheld, Manpack and Small Form Fit (HMS) programme. The programme will now move into customer testing.
Rockwell Collins delivered 30 AN/PRC-162 two-channel, software-defined military communication radios for testing. The customer testing phase will include more rigorous evaluations, with increased network complexity and validation with various radio systems.
The army is looking to buy in excess of 60,000 radios throughout the 10-year acquisition programme and expects full-rate production to begin in 2017.
The AN/PRC-162 hosts multiple waveforms, both narrowband and wideband, point-to-point data, and Mobile User Objective System in a software-defined radio architecture.
Troy Brunk, vice president and general manager, communication and navigation solutions, said: ‘For years, we’ve delivered secure communications with the ARC-210, the most widely fielded radio in the airborne market.
‘The AN/PRC-162 benefits directly from this technology baseline as well as our proven experience integrating networked communication across the battlefield.’
The service has been seeking simulation and emulation solutions capable of reproducing multiple in-orbit threats.
The service has been conducting several acquisition and upgrading efforts involving artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve communication, data analysis and ISR systems.
The Syracuse 4B communications satellite, developed by Airbus and Thales Alenia Space, was launched last year, bolstering secure military satellite communications for the French Armed Forces. Thales has now been selected to provide terminals for vehicles.
The growing importance of space in modern warfare, advancements in satellite technology, and increasing threats from rivals like China and Russia were among the topics of a Eurosatory 2024 panel on military space operations.
AN/ARC-232A is a Starfire radio that provides VHF/UHF communications to airborne platforms and the transceiver is software-programmable, allowing for multiple waveform support as well as optional national electronic counter counter-measure (ECCM) capability.
During the 18-month period of the contract, Lockheed Martin will apply Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) techniques to create surrogate models of aircraft, sensors, electronic warfare and weapons within dynamic and operationally representative environments.