Enhancing Battlefield Communications Through 4G LTE+ Cellular Technology
Enhancing Battlefield Communications Through 4G LTE+ Cellular Technology
Author(s): Kurt Brown
No pages: 12
Year: 2015
Article ID: 18-3-2
Keywords: battlefield communications, cellular communications, communications and information systems, tactical communications
Format: Electronic (PDF)
Abstract: The battlespace is a complex environment comprising of multiple domains, maritime, air, land and cyber, across a diverse range of scenarios. These scenarios span conventional warfighting to humanitarian assistance, requiring complex processes and systems and demand the enabling of increasingly technologically advanced platforms. To generate a battlespace effect information must traverse efficiently and effectively linking these diverse platforms spread between domains and across the breadth of scenarios. Currently, within the land domain this information is pushed by the Enhanced Position Location Reporting System (EPLRS) data network. However, this network will be challenged to meet emerging platforms, requirements which demand big data such as the: Joint Strike Fighter, next generation Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, P8, and increasingly complex processes such as deliberate and dynamic targeting using Full Motion Video. To enable complex processes and emerging platforms a scalable and flexible data network is required providing beyond line-of-sight, single hop connectivity to enable time critical applications and high bandwidth, big data. This paper proposes that a cellular, Fourth Generation (4G) Long Term Evolution Advanced (LTE+) architecture can meet these demands now and into the future providing a revolutionary military communications capability to the Australian Defence Force, specifically the Army.