COMBATANT COMMS

There is a lot we may never know about the heroic and historic operation that took down America’s most wanted terrorist, Osama Bin Laden. But what we do know is that the helmet cams and other comm gear employed by SEAL Team 6 were critical elements of the mission’s success. The White House and U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) will neither confirm nor deny that live video from the team’s helmet cams were being fed to the president and others in the White House Situation Room during the raid. However, we have seen the famous picture of a concerned Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and we do know that she, and the others gathered in the room, were able to monitor the situation in real-time and were given regular updates as the operation proceeded.

In a statement released to the press following the successful raid, Lieutenant Commander Fred Kuebler, a public affairs officer with SOCOM, said, “With today’s technology, it’s not uncommon for cameras to be carried into combat operations.” We do know for sure that some of the members of the raid were wearing such cameras. Whether they were used to stream live video remains unconfirmed, but we do know they did record and document the entire mission.

This Isn’t Your Father’s Helmet

Today’s helmet worn by special forces is a lot more than simple head protection; it is an extension of the operative’s eyes and ears, equipped with a myriad of sophisticated communications gear. The helmet worn by SEALS and other special operators is known as the Modular Integrated Communications Helmet (MICH), and it is much more than the typical “K-pot.” The MICH incorporates lightweight yet superior ballistic protection with the ability to interface with the sophisticated tactical communications headsets, microphones and other gear utilized by special operations forces. Special forces need to communicate for the execution of their missions, often in remote or austere environments, but they also have to be sure not to be encumbered by the gear. According to retired Army Colonel Mike Bradley, with Lockheed Martin Advanced Development & Ventures Business Development, communications gear used by SOF “must be lightweight, able to withstand extreme changes in temperatures and be very rugged in order to survive in the types of environments in which special forces operate. Any wearable gear system must be easy to put on and take off, not have a lot of wiring that will get tangled up while the operator is moving or crawling around, and be easy to operate in a hands-free mode. The components must be tightly sealed so that no water can penetrate into the electronics or battery compartment.”

According to its original specs, the MICH provides 9 mm handgun and fragmentation protection across all operational environments. The helmet also allows for maximum sensory awareness for the user by providing an unobstructed field of view and ambient hearing capabilities. Most importantly for today’s high-tech special operator, it has been designed to allow mounting of night vision devices, cameras and a communications sub-system, as well as gear such as oxygen masks to protect personnel from chemical, biological or nuclear weapons.

The communication sub-system provides sound suppression protection, as well as a dual channel communications capability. Communications apparatuses include: omnidirectional hearing, dual channel ear-specific communications, low-profile microphones, microphone adapters for mask microphones, multiple radio and intercom adapters, and push-to-talk access. Communications headsets may be worn alone or with the ballistic helmet retention system and pad suspension system.

According to Natick Soldier Systems operations, where the MICH was designed and developed, “The MICH communications suite is fully compatible with all 30 radio systems used by the special operations forces and Marine Corps. This is accomplished by using modified commercial off-the-shelf impedance matching technology with a version for land and maritime operations.”

Headsets can be worn alone or inside the helmet. Depending on the operation, the warfighter can use high- or low-noise headsets. High-noise headsets go completely over the ears and have unidirectional microphones built into the front of each earphone to pick up and amplify ambient sounds up to 150 meters away. These headsets double as aural protection. If sound from concussion or gunfire exceeds 85 decibels, the point where ear damage can occur, the microphones shut off automatically, and the headphones become hearing protection. High-noise headphones are meant for use in close-quarters battle or forward positions such as lookout points. The headphones also completely hold in any radio chatter or static, allowing special operators to move in stealth and silence.

Low-noise headsets would be used during patrol or recon operations; they do leave the ears somewhat less protected, but allow the warfighter to monitor ambient environmental sounds from all directions.

The MICH has seen several improvements and is now known as the ACH, or Advanced Combat Helmet. The standard issue for all troops deploying to the Iraq/Afghanistan theater, the ACH TC-2000 is manufactured by MSA. Based in Pennsylvania, MSA was the contractor for producing the original MICH, on which the MSA TC-2000 is based, and continues to produce most of the ACH helmets worn by warfighters today.

The Comm Gear

So just what are today’s increasingly networked warfighters plugging those microphones and headsets into, and wearing under and with ACH? A key piece of personal communications gear that was critical in improving situational awareness in Afghanistan was the Thales AN/PRC-148 radio used by special forces. Known as the Multiband Inter/Intra Team Radio (MBITR) it is a lightweight squad radio that many believe was a game changer in the overthrow of the Taliban. According to Thales, teams in the field said the MBITR significantly extended their operating range and proved extremely reliable in the hot and dusty conditions of the Afghan desert. Some said this was simply the best SOF communications system they had seen in years. According to Thales, the MBITR compresses over 60 pounds of equipment into approximately 2 pounds, without losing any functionality.

Ground-based SOF in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom also rely on the Multiband Multimission radio, (MBMMR) AN/PRC-117F, manufactured by Harris Corp. Also known as the Falcon, it is a secure two-way tactical radio covering the 30-512 MHz frequency range. The MBMMR is NSA certified for transmission of voice and data traffic up to the Top Secret level. This ultrahigh frequency satellite communications radio proved very useful for transmitting locations of high-value al-Qaida and Taliban targets to various operations command centers, which were then able to call in drones or manned aircraft to engage those targets.

In 2010, L-3 Communications, headquartered in New York, was awarded a five-year $170 million contract by SOCOM for portable satellite communications gear to provide high-speed transmission of voice and data communications. The system known as the Panther very small aperture terminal (VSAT) represents two years of R&D to reduce the size of a VSAT terminal to the point that it can fit into a rucksack. According to L-3, the Panther is “the smallest, most rugged VSAT terminal of its type, and provides 1-4 Mbps data rates for transmit, depending on satellite beam, and multi-Mbps for receive. The custom flat panel antenna design provides the operational simplicity of commercial satellite services while providing significantly higher throughput and lower operational cost.” Amplifiers provide more power to boost an otherwise weak signal.

AR Modular RF’s KMW1031 is a fourth generation product and the latest version in a line of tactical booster amplifiers that date back to the founding specifications for the MBITR PRC148 radio and a 20W tactical booster amplifier to give this then-new radio concept a significant increase in range covered.

Subsequent versions of the booster amplifier have focused on complete automation to allow the operator to focus on the mission rather than fiddle with a bunch of radio knobs. Additional design changes have been made to the unit to make it compatible with new modern waveforms and run more efficiently so that it lasts a long time on a single battery pack.

This 20W booster has been for the past seven years or so one of the cornerstone amplifier designs in the market, and like all good ideas has often been imitated by others. The innovative circuit designs used in the latest generation KME1031 have spawned higher power amplifiers like the AR-50, which offers 50W output power with only a few watts input from a radio like the PRC148 or the PRC152, with the ability to run on 12/24V vehicles, and has a separate satcom antenna port and control of a low-noise amplifier with co-site filtering.

AR Modular RF is continually developing new products to meet the advancing market needs. AR’s next generation 20W tactical amplifier, the AR20, will release later this year and have all of the feature set of the highly popular AR50 but in a form factor smaller than the original KMW1031.

Other Wearables

Helmet cams and communications interfaces are not the only ruggedized personal electronics utilized by SEALs and other SOF. Nor is the helmet the only place they are worn. The idea of a truly networked soldier—a warfighter literally wired into the situational command of the battlefield network with a wearable hands-free system—actually began 20 years ago with the then-mostly science fiction concept, Land Warrior.

Some $500 million dollars later, the Land Warrior program was cancelled in 2007, but not its vision. Bits and pieces of Land Warrior tech continued to be used successfully over the years and the quest for an integrated wearable computer/radio continued. Land Warrior itself morphed into the Ground Soldier Ensemble, which is now known as Nett Warrior. When it was cancelled, the prototype Land Warrior vest was a wearable computer/GPS/radio combination, inlaid into an improved body armor design.

Nett Warrior was tested in 2010 in Afghanistan. Like Land Warrior, the heart of the system is a wearable, networked computer that weighs about five pounds, with an eyepiece for the display and a handheld, wrist-mounted keyboard. The eyepiece display can show anything a computer can, but is usually a heads-up display map showing the constantly updated position of the wearer in relation to other friendly troops and the most recently reported location of the enemy. Battery life is about 24 hours.

The test for the most part was a success, but the still relatively bulky system faces many of the same challenges that its predecessor did. Nett Warrior may also be in danger of being scrapped, and its biggest competition may be coming not from something wired into the lining of a soldier’s body armor, but carried in his pocket. The dream of the networked soldier, which began decades ago, may actually become reality via an app on a cell phone.

The replacement for the five to 10 pounds of gear that makes up Nett Warrior is not exactly available as an iPhone app—yet. However, top brass is seriously looking at smartphones and their use on the battlefield. A program called Connecting Soldiers to Digital Applications, within the Army’s Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC), is dedicated to how iPhones, Droids and other smartphone technology can be most useful to the Army.

Long-time military contractor Lockheed Martin has responded to this interest with the Monax system, a solution that delivers the versatility of a smartphone with the security and ruggedization needed in the SOF environment. The 4G wireless system uses a proprietary portable Monax Lynx sleeve that connects touch-screen commercial off-the-shelf smartphones to a Monax base station infrastructure, offering uninterrupted service to warfighters in the field. Monax uses a secure RF link protected through strong exportable encryption, enabling transfer of pertinent and sensitive information with speed and ease. “Not all special forces missions require highly specialized communications equipment,” LM’s Bradley said. “Special forces can take advantage of commercial or slightly modified commercial equipment such as cellular technology to assist in some of their missions such as foreign military training and assistance. They can use smartphone technology in these types of missions as well as in other support requirements without the need for expensive communications gear.”

The challenge in leveraging existing smartphone technology for the needs of SOF primarily had to do with range. Bradley explained how Monax gets around that. “Using a modified standard waveform, we developed a system that provides increased range and connectivity than [is] currently found in typical commercial cellular systems. This reduces the amount of equipment and support requirements needed to establish a cellular system on the battlefield.” This means that Monax does what Nett Warrior does not: It provides a way for the warfighter to use low-cost commercial smartphone and tablet devices to provide voice, data and streaming video capabilities down to each individual at the tactical level.

Motorola, whose Droid platform is giving the iPhone a run for its money in the consumer electronics world, is also responding to DoD’s increased interest in smartphone technology.

According to a recent U.S. Army press release, “the Army is planning to deploy a new handheld known as the Joint Battle Command-Platform, or JBC-P. The two-pound JBC-P is essentially a military-friendly smartphone designed to run on a variety of existing radio networks, while supporting the full suite of forthcoming apps.” Under the soon-to-be-operational new Army framework known as the Mobile/Handheld Computing Environment, third-party developers will be able to create and submit tactical Android apps using the military’s Computing Environment Product Developer’s Kit that is expected to be available in late summer.

Northrop Grumman, another well-known name across the board in military contracts, also sees the value of the networked soldier, and of leveraging existing technologies. “Northrop Grumman is investing in affordable, mature technology to allow soldiers to have full situational awareness and voice and data communication capabilities down to the squad and individual rifleman,” said Bill Clingempeel, director of Northrop Grumman Information Systems, Battle Management Business. “Given the operational environment in Operation Enduring Freedom, this capability provides tremendous advantages. It enables situational awareness by allowing other friendly units to track their positions in near real-time. It also allows them to receive actionable intelligence such as biometric data and full motion video from unmanned air and ground sensors.”

Moving Ahead

The routing of the Taliban in Afghanistan and the successful mission that closed the book on Osama Bin Laden are prime examples of the effectiveness of the networked soldier. Special forces have been leading this charge toward more network-centric warfare in the 21st century. The success of these and similar operations could be largely attributed to increased shared situational awareness and extremely robust real-time communications capabilities that allowed SOFs to maximize their efforts. As Northrop Grumman’s Clingempeel put it, “Extending the network to the tactical edge will allow U.S. dismounted formations conducting stability operations to dominate the enemy as decisively on the ground as our forces currently do in the air and on the sea.”

This is all part of SOCOM’s decision several years ago to redouble emphasis toward improved battlefield situational awareness. Working with vendors, Natick Soldier Systems and other developmental arms of DoD, a push was made to acquire new systems and leverage new technologies. Fielding these advances has proved their worth time and again, and they are making the vision of the networked soldier a reality.

As always, special operators have the uncanny ability to adapt to changing situations on the battlefield that has forever been their hallmark. However, they are now able to do that even more effectively with significantly improved battlefield awareness and an unprecedented ability to link operationally with conventional forces from all the services, thanks to personal electronics.

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