The Future of Digital Communication Systems for Conveying Wartime Situations

[Monthly Defense Times Editor-in-Chief An Seung-beom] The Tactical Information Communication Network (TICN) project is a digital data communication system designed to replace the existing analog voice-centric communication system (SPIDER) and radios. It consists of a high-capacity wireless transmission device (HCTR), high-capacity radio (TMMR), network management system (NMS), mobile communication equipment (M-SAP), and interworking devices.

The first production of TICN Block 1-1’s core components?HCTR, TMMR, NMS, M-SAP, and interworking devices?was completed by 2016. However, following test evaluations, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration decided to halt the project citing development failure.

The reason for the project suspension was that the TMMR (Tactical Multiband Multirole Radio) radio failed to meet the military’s required performance.

The core of the TMMR radio is that it integrates four types of analog radios (HF band AM, VHF band AM, UHF band AM, VHF band FM) and three types of digital data communication (VHF band FM, HF band AM, K-WNW dedicated) into a single TMMR radio via software, rather than using separate hardware radios.

This is similar to software-based integrated radio systems like the JTRS (Joint Tactical Radio System), which integrates DAMA (Demand Assignment Multi-Access), WNW (Wide Network Waveform), TADIL-J, Have Quick II, and SINCGARS (Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System) into LRU (Line Replaceable Unit) cards.

The issues that led to the development halt occurred in the digital data communication functions.

Among the digital data communication functions, the Korean WNW using OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) met the military’s performance requirements in IP-based wireless network configuration, high-speed data transmission, encryption security, and Ad-hoc capabilities according to test evaluations.

However, the VHF band FM data communication function and the HF band AM data communication function were judged to not meet the military’s requirements.

In particular, for VHF-FM and HF-AM data communications, when high-capacity data was transmitted at high speed using frequency hopping in narrow bandwidths, the data communication distance required by the military was not achieved.

This means that when channels with a high PRF (Pulse Repetition Frequency) are used for high-capacity data communication in the VHF and HF bands, the reach distance shortens; conversely, using lower frequency channels within the allocated frequency range to extend reach results in longer transmission times for high-capacity data.

Due to frequency efficiency issues, to create as many channels as possible within the given frequency range, the bandwidth of each frequency hopping channel was set narrowly. When selecting VHF band carrier channels set in the TMMR for frequency modulation (FM) baseband or HF band carrier channels for amplitude modulation (AM) baseband, the high-capacity data transmission rate or data communication distance did not meet the military’s requirements, making deployment impossible.

An alternative compromise was proposed to remove the two problematic digital data communication modes (VHF-FM and HF-AM) and retain only K-WNW. However, this fundamentally contradicts the military’s requirement for both voice and data communication over VHF-FM and HF-AM.

If only the K-WNW mode using the UHF data band remains and the VHF-FM and HF-AM data communication modes are removed, data communication would be possible only in the UHF band, which could cause various issues such as data communication distance problems required by the military for the TMMR radio, terrain-related communication challenges, and inability to utilize ionospheric reflection.

Therefore, after the decision to halt the project, a search began for a new software-based integrated radio to replace the TMMR.

As with all military equipment, the TICN system’s deployment follows a schedule, and since the project to replace the old SPIDER system must proceed quickly, the military cannot wait indefinitely for the manufacturer to resolve the issues.

The TICN system development project was already evaluated in 2015 as failing to meet 19 requirements. Among these, four issues including communication distance were identified as difficult to remedy at that time.

Therefore, the approach that emerged was to select and deploy an integrated SDR (Software Defined Radio) system already fielded overseas that meets the military’s requirements, while converting TMMR development into a mid- or long-term program and collaborating with the vendor supplying the alternative equipment to resolve the issues.

Among the alternative equipment investigated was the E-Lynx system, a type of TMMR.

E-Lynx is equipment fielded by the Israel Defense Forces. Unlike the TMMR’s CSMA (Carrier Sense Multi-Access) method, which can experience delays and struggles to flexibly respond to complex hoc topology and operational redeployment in difficult terrain, the E-Lynx system uses TDMA (Time Division Multi-Access), which transmits data sequentially in time slots among data communication terminals participating in the network.

This suits the Korean military’s need to deploy network components according to complex terrain, and as a system already fielded and verified overseas, it can overcome the problems and enable deployment. Technology transfer is prioritized, which will also help resolve the current technical difficulties.

Additionally, as an SDR radio designed with an open architecture, the system can accommodate data communication systems developed in Korea such as K-WNW, which should not be overlooked.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.