Published in European Security Defence Magazine.
All these echelons need to maintain communications within their own units and within their command structure, to support intel, operations, call for fire, logistics and other communications requirements. The challenge is how to most effectively connect the warfighter at the tip of the spear at the squad level, up through the echelons, and even to the enterprise network.
Imagine a dismounted squad with an injured soldier. The squadron is carrying their tactical radios, which may be using the soldier radio waveform, and they need to communicate with a Medivac en route to retrieve the injured soldier.
Because the airborne platforms primarily use SINCGARS and the squad may be communicating over SRW, they cannot directly talk with each other. There is a clear need for a standardising method or protocol to connect networks of different types and different types of radios and waveforms. The solution is to use Radio over IP (RoIP) to convert the radio’s audio signal from analogue to digital, into a format that is similar or compatible with VoIP. Using RoIP, a cross band can be created through the company commander’s vehicle, between the SRW and SINCGARS networks, enabling the squadron to relay information about the injured soldier directly to the Medivac before it lands.
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