BAE Systems successfully completed a capability demonstration of its FireNetTM software-defined communication transceiver. The demonstration displayed the FireNet system’s additional channel capabilities for rotary wing aircraft – providing our armed forces with a unified tactical network and enabling Joint All Domain Operations (JADO). Designed for current and future fleets, this modular open-system architecture solution also enables additional line-of-sight voice, data, and network communications from very high frequency to S-Band. The FireNet system maximizes flexibility with a small, standardized footprint, minimizing integration effort for existing aircraft. It augments existing radio installations with a concurrent four-channel capability in a two-channel configuration.
“Military operations will increasingly occur in network-centric environments that demand greater bandwidth and network diversity to manage the immense amount of information at hand,” said Alan Dewar, director of Integrated Communication Solutions at BAE Systems. “Our FireNet system delivers large volumes of accurate, reliable information exchanged in real-time, allowing warfighters to maintain situational awareness and stay connected.”
The FireNet system uniquely addresses the U.S. Army Aviation Branch’s channel capacity and waveform needs with low cost, size, weight, and power demands. The system’s additional narrow-band, wide-band, and Link-16 capabilities provide rotary wing aircraft with a unified tactical network that’s Crypto Modernization ready. Allied and coalition defense operators using Link 16 military tactical data link terminals are required to update those terminals to a new cryptographic subsystem by 2022. Work on the FireNet system will take place at the company’s Fort Wayne, Ind. site.
BAE Systems’ communications products span airborne, maritime, and ground applications in the high frequency to ultra-high frequency spectrums. The company’s battle-proven systems offer demonstrated reliability, lowering overall system cost. These systems also feature multi-band, secure anti-jam voice, data imagery transmission, and network-capable communications. BAE Systems is a leader in narrowband and broadband communication technologies, with more than two decades of core expertise in the radio market. The company’s Common Datalink radio family of products merges the latest generation wideband, high speed hardware, and software technologies to provide warfighters with the communication solutions they need in the modern battlefield.
