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C-130 gunship). It also supports Type III AES 128 and 256 decryption, says the company. With an embedded GPS receiver it can also perform relative position reporting, providing the user with the range and bearing to the aircraft providing the feed. SAVR features 99 preset channels and can scan rapidly across all bands. Harris emphasises that because it complies with the JTRS-derived Software Communications Architecture (SCA 2.2), the SAVR can keep up with evolving digital data link standards through software-only upgrades. I SAVR DISPLAY AND NETWORKING
While the set has a small integral screen, it can also feed its video to a variety of display devices including head/helmet mounted eyepieces, laptops and Harris’ own RF-3590RT tablet. It can also inject streaming video into tactical mobile ad hoc networks through integration with other Harris radios including the AN/PRC-117G, the AN/PRC152A and the RF-7800M. In the developing battle between commercial devices and fully-rugged military hardware, Harris has chosen the latter for the Android-based RF-3590. Far more than a video display, this tablet computer can be
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connected to all Falcon II and III radios and also features multiple embedded radios including 802.11n wifi, Bluetooth 4.0, commercial GPS and cellular systems. Automatically connecting users to wideband networks, it enables them to access and share photographs and other files, plot positions of friendly units, run tactical applications and control tactical radios remotely, for example. This connectivity and a set of tailored applications effectively turns the tablet computer into a mission management suite. I RIVAL STRIKEHAWK
When Rockwell Collins developed its StrikeHawk Digital video downlink receiver, a key component of its FireStorm integrated targeting system, it retained the capabilities of the analogue original along with its compact body-worn format and helmet mounted display and added L-3’s Rovercompatible digital technology along with a raft of new functions for special forces, tactical air control parties, forward air controllers, forward observation officers and fire support
teams. The occluded eyepiece display is designed to eliminate the risk of light from an open video screen giving the operator’s position away. As well as the eyepiece and the radio, which runs on standard PRC-148/152 batteries, there is a hand controller and a smaller body-worn antenna. The StrikeHawk supports analogue waveforms in the L-, S- and C-bands plus the 455 kbps TACT 455k in the C-band, the 466 kbps TACT 466k in the L-, S- and C-bands plus the TACT 1.6, 3.2 and 6.4 waveforms (the numbers indicating the data rate in Mbps) and the 0.05 to 5.0 Mbps Vortex Native Waveform (VNW) in all three bands. (L-3’s Vortex is a “next-generation” rackmounted sensor-to-shooter transceiver for air, ground and maritime use offering simultaneous dual-band transmission that uses spatial and frequency redundancy to make links more reliable.) Optional appliqué modules allow the StrikeHawk to work with bespoke platform downlinks. AAI Textron emphasises the flexibility and configurability of its One System
Elbit’s ViDi and mViDi are a pair of vehicle-mounted and soldier-carried military H.264 video & telemetry streamer for tactical narrowband and broadband networks. ViDi overcomes the challenges of delivering streaming video by serial communication through narrowband Combat Net Radio. (Elbit)