Key Tactical Data Link Systems Clear Operational Testing

US Navy, SAN DIEGO: The Navy’s Program Executive Office for Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence (PEO C4I) announced the successful testing of two critical components of its planned upgrade to the Tactical Data Link (TDL) system onboard Navy ships. 
 
The Next Generation Command and Control System (NGC2P) / Common Data Link Management System (CDLMS) and the Multifunctional Information Distribution System (MIDS) on Ship (MOS) each achieved positive results in recent testing conducted by the Navy’s Operational Test and Evaluation Force. 
 
The tests were conducted over several weeks and involved elements of the Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and NATO. The MOS system accumulated more than 430 operating hours over a 19-day period aboard USS Tarawa (LHA 1), both in port in San Diego and at sea in the local operating area. The NGC2P/CDLMS system accumulated more than 100 hours over a five-day period aboard the cruiser USS Port Royal (CG 73) and destroyer USS Hopper (DDG 70). Both systems were found to be operationally effective and operationally suitable. 
 
Chris Miller heads PEO C4I, the organization responsible for providing Navy and Marine Corps warfighters with the integrated communications and information technology systems they need to succeed. 
 
“The effectiveness of our operating forces is largely determined by their ability to receive and process information, and then use that information to protect themselves and deliver their weapons accurately – ‘put rounds on target,’” said Miller. “These successful tests are a major step forward in enhancing that capability for our warfighters.” 
 
Tactical Data Link systems transfer information quickly and securely among military assets. Information can be sent via an orbiting satellite, an aircraft operating overhead or a system of ground links. These systems allow ground troops operating in Afghanistan to transmit near real-time information to a Navy ship operating in the Persian Gulf. 
 
The existing TDL system is the Joint Tactical Information Distribution System (JTIDS), a network radio system used by the U.S. armed forces and its allies to support data communications, principally in air and missile defense. JTIDS is one of the family of radio equipment that compose the JTIDS/TDL J system, commonly referred to as Link 16, a highly-survivable radio communications data link that provides reliable situational awareness for fast-moving forces. 
 
Link 16 data communications standards and technology were developed in 1975, with the first JTIDS terminals installed on Air Force AWACS aircraft and at U.S., U.K., and NATO ground-control facilities. Smaller Link 16 terminals, called MIDS-Low Volume Terminal (LVT), were developed to equip U.S. fighters, specifically the F/A-18 Hornet. 
 
The MOS system is the next generation Link 16 TDL terminal and is designed to replace the older JTIDS terminals on newly constructed Navy ships. MOS was developed to meet the Navy’s continued need for a Link 16 terminal. It is based on the MIDS-LVT link 16 receiver-transmitter, but includes additional software to allow the system to interface to the ship's combat system. 
 
The NGC2P/CDLMS system is designed to enhance the ability of Navy ships to be made aware of incoming threats. The system also allows Navy ships to strike targets over the horizon by providing improved connectivity, enhanced throughput and extended range of TDLs, including Link 16. 
 
NGC2P is the follow-on to the C2P program initiated in 1982 that converged three separate data links into a single system interface. That system is used today in the fleet aboard aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers and large amphibious warships. NGC2P employs a satellite data link for the exchange of information. The satellite link reduces the reliance on airborne link relays, and will relieve current constraints on battlefield deployment due to line-of-sight and network saturation limitations in large combat theaters of operations. 
 
NGC2P leverages the Joint Range Extension Application Protocol C (JREAP-C), which will provide forces greater range enhancements and improve the Navy and Marine Corps’ ability to operate with joint forces. The JREAP-C capability provided by NGC2P is also used by the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense system as a mission-critical communication link. 
 
Each system must clear a final hurdle before being introduced to the fleet. NGC2P is expected to receive full-rate production approval this summer and will then be installed aboard all Navy combatant ships by 2012. The final step for the MOS system is the award of a production contract, also scheduled for this summer, and will be installed on new construction ships. 
 
Headquartered on the Old Town Campus of the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) in San Diego, Calif., the mission of the Navy's Program Executive Office for C4I is to provide integrated communications and information technology systems, and the end-to-end connectivity needed to enable decision superiority and ensure the mission success of our naval forces. Supported by Team SPAWAR and industry partners, PEO C4I annually completes more than 2,000 C4I installations to fleet and coalition customers.