BAE Systems demonstrates new radio technology

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The US leg of transnational defence and aerospace giant BAE Systems has demonstrated networked communications technology that bridges dissimilar radio systems to give pilots and soldiers greater access to intelligence data, imagery, and video.
The AXCESS (Assured Exchange of Communications and Enterprise Services System) is designed to enable pilots and soldiers to communicate with Internet protocol-based radios that span multiple bandwidths and frequencies.

The company demonstrated the system during the US Air Force`s Electronic Systems Group`s (ELSG) Capstone II test event in Patuxent River, Maryland.
“Today`s soldier does not have the wireless access to timely information that the everyday cell phone or BlackBerry user does,” say Tom Gregg, who leads development of the AXCESS system for BAE Systems.

“Our system provides reliable, secure, and timely access to the intelligence information our service members need in the field.”

The US Air Force and other air, sea, and ground military forces use various radio systems that operate on different wavelengths and formats, resulting in limited or no connectivity among units using incompatible systems. AXCESS connects and manages the communications across these dissimilar systems to provide a seamless and secure network for all forces.

Capstone II, conducted by the ELSG`s Airborne Network Enterprise Division and MIT`s Lincoln Labs, examined use of wideband airborne networking and the military`s Common Data Link program to improve communications.

It measured the performance of the US Air Force`s airborne network, a series of communications systems designed to maintain connectivity between pilots and the ground as aircraft pass through different networks.