A bird in hand.

Hand-held radios have provided the dismounted soldier with short-range access to inter-operating ground and air units through one-on-one connections and via squad-level or battlefield-sized networks. Lightweight and small, these electronic 'homing-pigeons' now provide almost futuristic localised communications coupled with appropriate encryption, frequency hopping and, in line with digitisation, data throughput.

By establishing a hand-held 'information node' directly on the front line, operational data from the wider tactical Internet can be pushed to or pulled by the user, thereby boosting his or her situational awareness. Conversely, frontline operators can communicate upwards--accessing indirect fire or close air support, updating intelligence on the battle-space picture through reconnaissance and co-ordinating resupply missions and casualty evacuations. Individual infantry users are now expanding their horizons--extending radio communications outside the jurisdiction of tow level leaders and providing a basic information structure to all the individual soldiers in a unit.

JTRS 

Any discussion of hand-held radios would not be complete without mention of the impact of the Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) Cluster 5. This procurement covers hand-held, manpack and Small Form Factor (SFF) radios. The SFF radios are designed to be embedded in systems such as Land Warrior, UAVs and even munitions to provide communications in the Future Combat System-equipped Unit of Action.

To address urgent needs for interoperable radios in response to feedback from Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom the procurement was split into two spirals. The first spiral was to have seen the delivery of moderate numbers of hand-held and manpack radios with the following spiral providing full capability--including SFF radios.

Spiral 1 requirements called for a five-Watt, single channel hand-held radio with a weight of 907 grams and a volume of around 655 cubic centimetres. This requirement, however, proved too ambitious and had to be dropped after it was found that contractors could not meet the requirement with today's technology. The new weight requirements for the Spiral 1 Manpack radio issued at the same time illustrated the challenges inherent with this technology. For the two-channel manpack radio which, at US Army Communications and Electronic Command direction, has seen its weight specifications revert back to the earlier Ord 2.3 requirement, that is, for no more than 5.9 kg rather than the original 4 kg weight restriction. While the Spiral 1 radio selected is not expected to be anywhere near as heavy as 5.9 kg, the Cluster 5 programme manager has said that contractors were nonetheless having difficulty getting the last ounces off the radio while still meeting requirements

A further issue is that while boxes can be reduced in size, antennas cannot. In the case of single channel operation, as with the AN/PRC-148 today and the Jem tomorrow, these come with six antennas to cover 30 to 512 MHz. which can be swapped according to need. It must be noted that in rapid fielding of the Thales Communications Mbitr to the 10th Mountain Division in Afghanistan, without the training in operating a multi-band operation, difficulties occurred.

A significant challenge will come in Spiral 2 when the Operational Requirements Document (Ord) asks for dual-channel simultaneous operation packed in a 1.3 kg, 1147 cc size, with an embedded Saasm GPS module in a format that could include a large HE antenna.

To operate two channels simultaneously, two separate antennas would, arguably, be required to support every possible combination of waveforms. However, in practice there are limits to the combinations of waveforms that will operate together. Therefore, the technical challenge faced in combining these waveforms is small enough to allow for one antenna on the radio and additional body formed antennas woven into troop clothing. A further issue will be co-site performance and heat dissipation in a compact unit that is sealed for ruggedisation. Technically possible, but difficult, these factors will serve to drive up the unit cost of the radios despite the economies of scale created by US Department of Defense demand.

Making it Tough

The objective requirements for hand-held radios under Cluster 5 really push the envelope of what is possible with devices of this size. Under the JTRS Operational Requirement Document 3.2, the handheld variants will be asked to support HF Single Side Band with Ale waveforms and the Mobile Satellite Service. The latter provides digital voice at 2.4 to 9.6 Kbps over Motorola's 66 Iridium Satellites constellation, which today calls for the use of dedicated handsets.

To support Cluster 5, the Department of Defense has funded the development of a new waveform. The Soldier Radio Waveform, co-developed by Darpa and ITT, will ensure communication in difficult terrain with low power demands, thus saving battery life.

Britain's Bowman waveform, which is included in Cluster I requirements, is not currently required in Cluster 5. A new capabilities document for Cluster 5 set to include this VHF waveform is due to be issued between December 2005 and January 2006, according the Cluster 5 programme office.

The $ 495 million initial contract for the Cluster 5 development programme was awarded in mid-June 2004 to the General Dynamics-led team, which includes BAE Systems, Rockwell Collins and Thales Communications. General Dynamics will lead the development of the common hard-and software elements used in all radio sets manufactured under this award.

The Cluster 5 decision leaves ITT Harris and Raytheon with no volume JTRS production contracts for man-portable systems, although ITT has mentioned that it intends to develop JTRS-compliant products despite the award decision. This is illustrated by the company's continued development and sales of its Spearhead radio, which is rapidly gaining popularity with national and international customers.

The schedule for Cluster 5 Spiral 2 radios is under review. The project team says that, in a worst case scenario, Spiral 2 EDM devices will be delivered no later than second quarter FY07.

There are other Department of Defense programmes having hand-held requirements that will not be met by Cluster 5 because of time scales. The US Warfighter Information Network--Tactical programme (known as Win-T) outlines a requirement for a Personal Communications Device (PCD). The Win-T, however, will enter service prior to Cluster 5 and the two teams led by Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics C4 Systems are exploring how to provide a hand-held bridging capability until Cluster 5 can be delivered, some time after Win-T's Developmental Test/Operational Test in June 2005. The PCD will provide commanders with untethered computing which will use cellular access rather than the 802.11 family of wireless access protocols.

Lockheed Martin's team is using Qualcomm's expertise in CDMA to support cellular connectivity, with Harris having overall responsibility for wireless connectivity. When it becomes available, the Cluster 5 solution for the PCD is a SFF-L two-channel, five-Watt device which will use the Soldier Radio Waveform, cellular waveform and Mobile Users Objective System. The Cluster 5 component is under a size and weight requirement of 328 cc and 544 grams respectively.

Cluster 5 will also support the Muos UHF Milsatcom system. This is the first time this voice and data requirement will be implemented in a hand-held device by the US Army, who currently uses manpack configurations. The ability to use a hand-held device has been made possible by the use of an enlarged aperture in the transmission systems offered by the two competing teams led by Lockheed Martin and Raytheon.

Cluster 2

The Thales Communications Cluster 2 radio is the JTRS Enhanced Multi Band Intra Team Radio (Mbitr)--the Jem. There are minor physical differences between the earlier Mbitr (M-biter) and the Jem. However, these mask significant improvements in capability brought about by an Engineering Change Proposal (ECP) to the original Mbitr to make the radio JTRS SCA compatible. First and foremost, the Jem has retained the same form factor of 33 cubic inches - it measures 21.3 x 6.6 x 3.8 cm and still weighs in at 79 grams. There has been no extension of frequency range either side of 30 to 512 and spacing is identical. The Jem however now uses dual processing. The legacy Comsec is replaced by the software defined Advanced Infosec Module (Aim) chip produced by General Dynamics. The radio will continue to use UHF AM/FM, VHF AM/FM, ANDVT and Retransmit waveforms but will add Sincgars Esip and the new Project 25 waveform. Civilian use is also being considered. The SDR Forum has said that the Jem is also being considered by a number of US Public Safety organisations as a test device for the Apco 25 public safety waveform.

The radio is manufactured to two variants: the V1 Urban and V2 Maritime, reflecting the limited changes the Jem has undertaken. The new radio will be known as the AN/PRC-148 V3 and V4.

While Jem production is just around the corner, domestic and international sales of the MBITR continue apace. The US military operations in Iraq and the ongoing war on terror has led to further purchases of the Mbitr. In US Marine Corps service the Tactical Hand-Held Radio (THHR) is designated as the AN/PRC-148(V)(C). The then-Racal Communications also developed the forerunner to the Mbitr, the AN/PRC-139, with which the user had three separate exchangeable transceiver modules to obtain multi-mode operation.

Ussocom completed its buy of Mbitrs in 2002. The radio has been widely exported to the allied SF and is stated as an integral part of digitisation programmes in several countries including Australia with its JP2072. In all, some 30 to 40,000 Mbitrs have been sold worldwide and Thales believes that these can be easily upgraded to the Jem standard should the customers desire.

The Other Side

Military SDR programmes in Europe have eschewed hand-held radios, concentrating instead on looking at manpack variants. This is seen most notably in Germany's Rohde & Schwarz HF/VHF/UHF M3TR family. The company has no plans to build a hand-held variant of its radio but has instead used the inherent advantages of SDR to work with the Czech company Dicom. Using Dicom's RF20 hand-held radio, Rohde & Schwarz has instantiated the RF20's waveform in the M3TR family's software and currently offers the RF20 alongside the M3TR. The RF20 offers a frequency range of 25 to 146 KHz. The radio is somewhat unique among its contemporaries in offering a small (25 to 30 MHz) HF and higher than normal VHF range enabling it to detect the Cospas Sarsat 121.5 MHz signal beacon for peacetime rescue.

Widespread use of hand-held SDR is not likely until the end of the decade. Instead of waiting many users are continuing to operate and acquire existing radios to meet immediate needs. All this at prices that Cluster 5 cannot hope to meet.

Tadiran Communications continues to offer the 735-gram, (30 to 88 MHz) VHF/FM band PRC-624 family in three hand-held form factors. This is a fixed frequency 2320-channel radio. Ten channels can be easily preset by the operator with selectable power output of between 0.25 and two Watts. With the higher setting, ranges of five to seven kilometres are possible using a nine-cm antenna. The PRC-624(S) is essentially the same radio with the addition of digital Comsec taken from the CNR-900 manpack radio. The PRC-624(N) is aimed at naval special forces and is therefore sealed to depths of 40 metres--the unit weighs 735 grams. The PRC-624(HP) takes the basic hand-held radio in either its standard or secure variants and matches it to a 20 Watt power amp, taking the weight to ~five kg.

The PRC-710 radio represents the first frequency hopping hand-held radio in the Tadiran family and is claimed to be the lightest in its class. With a two-Watt output in anti-jamming mode and using a Li-ion battery, 15-hours of operation are possible. In addition 5 W and 0.25 W settings can be selected. Like the PRC-624 the -710 can be integrated with a power amplifier to provide outputs of 6 W and 20 W and ranges of up to 25 km. Data throughput using the radio is up to 16 Kbps.

The latest addition to the family is the PRC-710MB, which takes the ECCM capabilities of the standard model and extends the frequency range to between 30 and 512 MHz. This frequency mirrors that of the Thales Mbitr. The PRC-710MB offers both AM and FM frequency coverage throughout the entire 30 to 512 MHz range and benefits from commonality with both the 710 and the CNR-9000 manpack. It includes a number of improvements to enhance LPI/LPS, ECCM, Comsec and voice modulation.

Turkey's Aselsan launched its new multi-band radio at Eurosatory 2004--the 30 to 512 MHz PRC-9651--which is being adopted by the Turkish armed forces. The radio offers five waveforms including the new SK9600A 64 Kbps, which is intended to be the basis of the Turkish tactical internet, ultimately replacing the 30 to 108 MHz SK9600. The waveform could enter service as early as next year and will be incorporated in the VRC-9661, a single channel SDR that the company says will be JTRS SCA compliant. The PRC-9651 is also designed to replace the RT-5114 Personal Subscriber Terminal, part of the 5100 Istar (Integrated Services Tactical Radio), which supports the Tasmus Tactical network.

Harris provides three hand-held frequency hopping radios from its Falcon II software radio: the RF5800U-HH UHF radio; the RF5800V-HH VHF and the RF5800M-HH multimode, multi-band radio. The Falcon II family offers a common-platform, software-based system on which tactical communications from hand-held to manpack can be based and covers a wide frequency spectrum, offering data rates of up to 16 Kbps.

The frequencies of each defines the intended users profile. The limited range of the 225 to 450 MHz U-HH lends itself to requirements for shorter range squad radios, the V-HH is compatible with other Falcon II manpacks and the M-HH offers communication between both frequency ranges. This interoperability is achieved by the use of common elements across the three radios via the company's Citadel proprietary encryption algorithm and the Quicklook 1A waveform.

The VHF hand-held variants cover the 30 to 108 MHz spectrum with output options of 0.25 mW, two and five Watts. Their weight including the battery is slightly less than one kilogram. The multi-band M-HH offers data throughput in standard settings at 1.2, 2.4 and 16 Kbps with four power outputs--0.1, 0.5, 1, 3 and 5 Watts. It weighs a touch more than one kilogram with battery. Two antennas are provided on this radio: a 30 to 512 MHz broadband antenna and a 30 to 88 MHz blade antenna. In 2003 Slovenia acquired a number of both the RF5800V-HH and M-HH radios. The V-HH variant was supplied to Chile.

The first radio in the Falcon III range, which is as yet unnamed, will be a handheld variant which the company sees as an alternative to the JTRS Cluster 2 Jem radio. The Falcon III, which is JTRS SCA compliant, is undergoing testing by the Department of Defense under the Commercial Comsec Endorsement programme. Its submission to this process has been sponsored by Ussocom. Testing began in August last year and is scheduled for endorsement in March 2005 with production planned to begin almost immediately. The radio will support the waveforms offered by the Jem and will also add the proprietary High Power Waveform developed by the company for the AN/PRC-117F and Ussocom. This addition will enable greater integration between manpack and hand-held units operated by US Special Forces.

Roughly 40 per cent of Kongsberg Defence Communications' MMRs (Multi Role Radio) destined to Norway (launch customer) are the hand-held variant, namely the MH 300 MRR-compatible unit. It is designed to operate synergistically with the 5 to 50-Watt manpack and vehicular radios selected by Norway in 2000 and Hungary in 2003. The 16 Kbps radio uses a 7.2V Lithium-Ion battery with a typical mission life of 18 hours and 15 mW and 1 Watt power outputs on an 8:1:1 ratio. The radio's weight, including antenna, ranges from 950 grams to 1.1 kg, depending on battery selection.

The First in Hand

In addition to slimmed down versions of its Sincgars/ADR+ range, ITF offers the Spearhead Sincgars JTRS compliant hand-held radio. This has been acquired by the US in trial numbers only but has received some export success in Africa and South West Asia among users of the ATCS radio family. The Spearhead's advantage is that it is immediately compatible with the US Tactical Internet. A version with a field-swappable UHF transceiver module is also offered.

Another US company offering radios in the hand-held category is Titan Systems. The PRC1060/1070/1080 provides inexpensive voice-only solutions with limited security. This is inadequate for front line military applications in many countries but useful for paramilitary forces or those militaries with less demanding requirements.

Thales lays claim to supplying the first hand-held radios to offer HF communications. The TRC 374 was developed in the 1980s, although other manufacturers had not followed suit due to lack of customer demand. Thales has hand-held versions of its highly popular PR4G and PR4GNG radios and has developed one of the lightest radios available--the TR 5010--which was selected by the French Army.

A large number of British-sourced radios remain in service around the world, largely in Asia and the Middle East. These include the Siemens Plessey PVS1850 Small Talk, Racal's Cougarnet and the PRM4740A Caracal. The latter is notable for being the first such radio to provide an ECCM frequency-hopping capability understood to have been operated by Ussocom.

Although Racal's product line has been effectively closed for new business, Romania's Elprof continues to offer the Panther family for export. This includes the Panther R which is claimed to be the smallest five-Watt hand-held radio. Romania selected the Panther 2000V (VHF) and 2000H (HF) as its battlefield CNR in 1997, with Elprof producing the family under licence.

Deutsche Elno produces a customised radio module for the Pentacom HF digital radio-telephone from Ascom. The radio integrates digital signal processing, individual programming and a key management system for high-level security. The Pentacom operates simultaneously in two networks, carries Idea 128-bit encryption with programmable algorithms and key generation and distribution in the field.

In Germany the Sem 52-S and the improved Sem 52-SL, developed by the former Alcatel Sel, provided hand-held VHF communications to the German Army and a number of export customers including the Norwegian Army. In Italy the standard platoon communications is still provided by the VHF RV-2/400 hand-held transceiver manufactured by Marconi subsidiary Larimart.

A number of specialist hand-held radios have been designed to equip downed aircrew and Special Forces to aid in their extraction. The General Dynamics AN/PRC-112 family is the de facto standard for coalition Combat Search and Rescue (Csar) and is in use with US and other Nato forces. The United States, however, is planning to replace this and other older radios, such as the PRC-90. with Boeing-developed Csel radios. The US Air Force, designated the lead in the procurement process, is planning to procure 44,000 such radios.

Tadiran SpectraLink has offered its own PRC-434 radio with the most recent G variant equipped with GPS. This is an integral part of its Airborne Search and Rescue System (Asars) solution. The manufacturer has also upgraded earlier PRC-112 radios to a US Army order. In the Csar world, Britain's Sarbe has a combined peacetime/combat Sat, the G2R, and Cubic Defence its URX-3000.

The Measure

The massive demand for data communications throughout the battlefield has generated a renaissance in hand-held radio design. Hand-held multi-band radios are soon to be joined by true SDRs under JTRS Cluster 5. Nevertheless, for those outside the United States there remains an enduring market for more traditional but still capable radios at the squad level and increasingly the individual level-not least to support the current spate of soldier modernisation programmes.