Officials of the Naval Air Systems Command at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md., announced their intention Tuesday to contract with Rockwell Collins to enable the company's AN/ARC-210 airborne radio's Ethernet interface to accept data for transport over line-of-sight UHF radio signals in a sea-scattering multipath environment.
Breaking ocean waves can scatter and otherwise interfere with the radio signals of low-flying aircraft. This can complicate the ability of Navy fixed-wing planes and helicopters to send and receive important voice and data communications while flying near the ocean's surface.
The Navy Rockwell Collins AN/ARC-210 airborne radio has Ethernet I/O functionality to send and receive data to and from on-board networked displays, communications, weapons, and other systems. The RF interference from breaking ocean waves can impede on-board communications and networking.
Related: Navy orders additional AN/ARC-210 SATCOM airborne radios for U.S. and allied aircraft
The value of the upcoming Navy contract to Rockwell Collins to improve the AN/ARC-210 radio's ability to communicate and network in the presence of wave-induced RF interference has yet to be negotiated.
The upcoming contract will have options to include beyond-line-of-site 25 kHz dedicated, demand-assigned multiple access (DAMA), and integrated waveform (IW) communications in AN/ARC-210 radio capabilities.
Additional information about this upcoming Navy contract to Rockwell Collins is online at https://www.fbo.gov/spg/DON/NAVAIR/N00421/N00019-19-RFPREQ-PMA-209-0007/listing.html.
For more information contact Rockwell Collins online at www.rockwellcollins.com, or Naval Air Systems Command at www.navair.navy.mil.
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