R&S equipment for Philippine Coast Guard

Rohde & Schwarz will provide secure communications and radio monitoring equipment to the Philippine Coast Guard under an order announced on 28 October.

The equipment will be installed on the coast guard’s Multi-Role Response Vessels (MRRV) in order to enhance their reconnaissance, pursuit and communications capabilities.

Equipment includes both R&S M3SR Series4400 and Series4100 software defined radios for secure voice and data communications. The Series4400 radios provide continuous AM and FM transmission coverage in the VHF and UHF frequency range from 100MHz to 512MHz; while the Series4100 radios deliver reliable and easy to set up shortwave communications.

The R&S Postman III software will also be delivered, to provide automatic message handling capabilities for Map Track, email, chat and file transfer. Postman III supports IP-based applications to enable efficient data transmission over radio networks, and has been optimised for communications over HF and VHF/UHF radio networks with variable data rates.

The R&S DDF205 monitors radio emissions from 8kHz to 6GHz and covers direction finding of signals ranging from 20MHz to 3GHz. The DDF205 is compact and has low power consumption, and features wideband DF antennas and the ability to be powered from a DC source.

Lino Dabi, assistant secretary for maritime of the Department of Transportation, said: ‘The coast guard’s goal is to equip its other vessels with the same kind of equipment so they too can benefit from the operational advantage of world class technology. The coast guard expects to improve operational efficiency and maintenance as a result of having common and compatible equipment on board the vessels and at shore sites.’