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.
Rohde & Schwarz has received a contract with Airbus and Naval Group for phase 2.1 of the French RIFAN programme, the company announced on 2 April.
The contract, awarded by the French Defence Procurement Agency, covers services to maintain and adapt the French naval forces' existing RIFAN 2 IP network, to integrate new ships and address hardware and software sustainment.
Expanding on the contract agreed in 2008, Rohde & Schwarz will now maintain the existing radio communications up to 2027.
The Rohde & Schwarz M3SR Series4400 VHF/UHF radios, equipped with the SATURN digital NATO EPM waveform, are interoperable with the analogue HAVE QUICK algorithm. The radios transmit Link 11 tactical data and are prepared for Link 22. The radios use both fixed and hopping frequencies for voice transmission and support IP based data transfer with high throughput.
The RIFAN programme equips French naval forces with a secure broadband network designed for the transmission of data with different classification levels (from unclassified to secret) between ships at sea and on-shore command centres. The network transmits data from applications that coordinate carrier group operations and those dedicated to on-board logistics management. The network utilises satellite connections as well as radio communications systems allowing all-IP transmission between ships.
RIFAN 2 also provides overall network management and cybersecurity incident monitoring capability. This monitoring can take place both from an on-shore management system in a control centre as well as on board the ships.
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.