Joint Tactical Radio System

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The Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS, often pronounced "jitters") is planned as the next-generation radio for use by the U.S. military in field operations for the second decade of the 21st century. JTRS is a software-defined radio for voice and data that will be backward-compatible with a very large number of other military and civilian radio systems. It also includes Wideband Networking Software to implement full-featured mobile ad hoc networks. JTRS includes integrated encryption capabilities. The JTRS operational-requirements document was released in 1998.

The functionality and expandability of the Joint Tactical Radio System are built upon the Software Communications Architecture (SCA). The SCA is an open-architecture framework that tells designers how elements of hardware and software are to operate in harmony within the JTRS. It governs the structure and operation of the JTRS, enabling programmable radios to load waveforms, run applications, and be networked into an integrated system. A Core Framework, providing a standard operating environment, must be implemented on every hardware set. Interoperability among radio sets is enhanced because the same waveform software can be easily ported to all radio sets.

The Object Management Group (OMG), a not-for-profit consortium that produces and maintains computer industry specifications for interoperable enterprise applications, is working toward building an international commercial standard based on the SCA.

1 Clusters
2 Problems and restructuring
3 Waveforms
4 External links

[edit] Clusters

The JTRS family of radios will be interoperable with legacy communication systems and capable of growth to accommodate new requirements and technologies.

The JTRS capabilities were originally broken down into five form-fit-function domains.

Cluster 1 included requirements for Marine and Army ground vehicles, Air Force Tactical Air Control Parties (TACP), and Army rotary-wing aviation. Cluster 1 JTRS is being developed by the U.S. Army. Cluster 1 also includes the development of a Wideband-Network Waveform (WNW). The WNW is a next-generation Internet protocol (IP)-based waveform designed to provide ad-hoc mobile networking.
Cluster 2 was renamed the "JTRS JEM Program." It adds JTRS capability to the existing handheld AN/PRC-148 Multiband Inter/Intra Team Radio (MBITR). Upgraded radio is referred to as the JTRS Enhanced MBITR (JEM). Development effort led by U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM). This radio has been certified and is currently in the field.[1]
Cluster 3 was a maritime / fixed terminal development, led by the Navy. It grew out of the Navy's previous Digital Modular Radio program.
Cluster 4, led by the Air Force, will provide Air Force and Naval Aviation radios for rotary- and fixed-wing aircraft.
Cluster 5 is developing handheld, man-portable, and small-form-factor embeddable radios. The Army is the lead on this newly approved cluster.

Overview of Changes To The Original Plan

Cluster 1 was restructured in 2005 due to significant cost and schedule overruns. The requirements for the Air Force TACP and Army rotary-wing aviation were removed from this cluster, and the program's scope was reduced to ground vehicles only and is now known as Ground Mobile Radio or GMR.

Cluster 2 was renamed the, "JTRS JEM Program."

Clusters 3 and 4 were combined in 2004 to form the Airborne and Maritime / Fixed-Station program. In Spring of 2006, Army rotary-wing radio requirements were transitioned from JTRS GMR to the AMF JTRS program. Future Cluster objectives will address satellite communication.

Cluster 5 has been renamed to HMS to represent the Handheld, Manpack, and Small Form Factor radios which Cluster 5 represents.

MIDS-JTRS was brought under the oversight of the JTRS program in 2006. The MIDS-JTRS program is a product improvement of the Multifunctional Information Distribution System Low Volume Terminal (MIDS-LVT) design, which was developed by a 5-nation consortium in the 1990s.

[edit] Problems and restructuring

The JTRS program has experienced significant cost and schedule overruns, particularly the Cluster 1 program, under development by Boeing[1]. Particular problems included a decentralized management structure, changing requirements, and unexpected technical difficuties making it difficult to achieve the size and weight goals and to add the expected number of waveforms to radios. In response to these problems, the JTRS program was restructured in March 2005 to add a Joint Program Executive Office. This is a unified management structure designed to help coordinate development of the four radio versions. In March 2006, the JPEO recommended a restructuring plan which addressed key problems by overhauling the management structure, reducing the overall scope of the project, and extending the deadlines. A GAO report issued in September 2006 credits these changes with reducing the risk of the program but states that even with its more limited goals, JTRS is still "moderately" risky[2].

There has been a realization that the U.S. cannot afford to replace all 750,000 tactical radio systems in use in the near term. The program is budgeted at $6.8 billion to produce 180,000 radios, an average cost per radio of $37,700. Due to the delays in the program, the DOD has been forced to spend an estimated $11 billion to purchase legacy tactical radios.

[edit] Waveforms

Originally planned to span a frequency range of 2 megahertz to 2 gigahertz, JTRS has been expanded to frequencies above 2 GHz to satisfy space communications requirements. Waveforms that will be supported include:

Soldier Radio Waveform (SRW)
Single Channel Ground Air Radio System (SINCGARS) with Enhanced SINCGARS Improvement Program (ESIP), 30-88 MHz, FM, frequency hopping and single frequency
HAVE QUICK II military aircraft radio, 225-400 MHz, AM, frequency hopping
UHF SATCOM, 225-400 MHz, MIL-STD-188-181, -182, -183 and -184 protocols
Enhanced Position Location Reporting System (EPLRS), 420-450 MHz spread spectrum
Wideband Networking Waveform (WNW) (under development)
Link-4A, -11B, - 16, -22/TADIL tactical data links, 960-1215 MHz+
VHF-AM civilian Air Traffic Control, 108-137 MHz, 25 (US) and 8.33 (European) kHz channels
High Frequency (HF) - Independent Side Band (ISB) with Automatic Link Establishment (ALE), and HF Air Traffic Control (ATC), 1.5-30 MHz
VHF/UHF-FM Land Mobile Radio (LMR), low-band 25-54 MHz, mid-band 72-76 MHz, high-band 136-175 MHz, 220-band 216-225 MHz, UHF/T 380-512 MHz, 800-band 764-869 MHz, TV-band 686-960 MHz, includes P25 public safety and homeland defense standard
civilian marine VHF-FM radio, 156 MHz band
Second generation Anti-jam Tactical UHF Radio for NATO (SATURN), 225-400 MHz PSK Anti-jam
Identification Friend or Foe (IFF), includes Mark X & XII/A with Selective Identification Feature (SIF) and Air Traffic Control Radar Beacon System (ATCRBS), Airborne Collision Avoidance System (ACAS) and Traffic Alert & Collision Avoidance System (TCAS), and Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Addressable (ADS-A) and Broadcast (ADS-B) functionality, 1030 & 1090 MHz
Digital Wideband Transmission System (DWTS) Shipboard system for high capacity secure & nonsecure, line-of-sight (LOS), ship-to-ship, and ship-to-shore, 1350-1850 MHz
Soldier Radio & Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), 1.755-1.850, 2.450-2.483.5 GHz, Army Land Warrior program 802.11
Cellular telephone & PCS, includes multiple US and overseas standards and NSA/NIST Type 1 through 4 COMSEC (SCIP)
Mobile Satellite Service (MSS), includes both VHF and UHF MSS bands and both fielded and emerging low Earth orbit and medium Earth orbit systems and standards, such as Iridium, Globalstar, et al. Includes capability for NSA/NIST Type 1 through 4 COMSEC, 1.61-2 [2.5] GHz. May allow use of geosynchronous satellites with special antenna.
Integrated Broadcast Service Module (IBS-M). Currently three legacies UHF military broadcasts (TIBS, TDDS, and TRIXS) which will be replaced in the future with a Common Interactive Broadcast (CIB).
BOWMAN, the UK Tri-Service HF, VHF and UHF tactical communications system.