March 14, 2011
The U.S. Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren has awarded a follow-on task order, under its contract with a subsidiary of Iridium Communications Inc., to implement Phase 3 of the Distributed Tactical Communications System (DTCS) program. Also called “Netted Iridium,” DTCS handheld push-to-talk (PTT) radios use the Iridium satellite network to provide over-the-horizon, beyond line-of-sight tactical networks for warfighters on the move. There are currently 5,600 active Netted Iridium radios.
Iridium is becoming a strategic component of The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) communications toolkit. With the task order investment, valued at $13.4 million, Iridium will make further enhancements to the overall DTCS infrastructure, including the implementation of “theater-wide” or Global Reach nets, allowing greater efficiency, higher capacity and improved quality of service. Working closely with the DoD on development of new innovative technologies, this investment enables Iridium to develop prototype next-generation user equipment.
The DoD has deployed DTCS radios to support operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) is deploying the DTCS radios through its Enhanced Mobile Satellite Services (EMSS) program management office.
“DTCS represents a real breakthrough in mobile military communications, leveraging Iridium’s far-reaching global network architecture to provide critical tactical communications for warfighters in places where line-of-sight radios and satellite systems are often blocked by terrain,” said retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. John Campbell, executive vice president for government programs at Iridium. “The DTCS radios are easy-to use, lightweight and require no deployed infrastructure, making them ideal for dismounted warfighters on the move.”
In addition to PTT voice calls, the devices can transmit real-time position location information, providing a common tactical and operational picture for all users on the network.
“Phase 2 of the DTCS program, which is currently deployed, provides expanded net footprints out to 250 miles and increases the number of available nets to 16,000,” said Scott Scheimreif, Iridium’s vice president of government programs. “We view Phase 3 as a strategic investment in the program, and are now working on additional architecture enhancements that will improve scalability and latency for enhanced communication and situational awareness of the warfighter.”
“We are working closely with our customer and partners on innovative new technologies to provide beyond-line-of-sight two-way command and control (C2), and improved situational awareness down to the handheld device. Phase 3 implementation will support a high volume of reporting devices on a real-time basis due to increased efficiency up to 30 times from the current implementation,” said Scheimreif.
Scheimreif states that these enhancements open up new opportunities in which DTCS can satisfy requirements for real-time data distribution across multiple platforms including sensors, vehicles, op centers and dismounted personnel.
The DTCS program had its origins in 2006 under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA). The Naval Surface Warfare Center in Dahlgren, Va., which functions as the research and development lab for the U.S. Marine Corps, conducted demonstration trials and field tests of the DTCS radios, and deployed the first units to combat troops in Afghanistan in 2008.
