Handbook of Defence Electronics and Optronics

Fundamentals, Technologies and Systems

Anil K. Maini

• Publisher: Wiley
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9781119184720
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Physical Sciences
• Subtopic: Waves & Wave Mechanics

Handbook of Defence Electronics and Optronics

Anil K. Maini, Former Director, Laser Science and Technology Centre, India

First complete reference on defence electronics and optronics

Fundamentals, Technologies and Systems

This book provides a complete account of defence electronics and optronics. The content is broadly divided into three categories: topics specific to defence electronics; topics relevant to defence optronics; and topics that have both electronics and optronics counterparts.

The book covers each of the topics in their entirety from fundamentals to advanced concepts, military systems in use and related technologies, thereby leading the reader logically from the operational basics of military systems to involved technologies and battlefield deployment and applications.

Key features:

• Covers fundamentals, operational aspects, involved technologies and application potential of a large cross-section of military systems.

• Discusses emerging technology trends and development and deployment status of next generation military systems wherever applicable in each category of military systems.

• Amply illustrated with approximately 1000 diagrams and photographs and around 30 tables.

• Includes salient features, technologies and deployment aspects of hundreds of military systems, including: military radios; ground and surveillance radars; laser range finder and target designators; night visions devices; EW and EO jammers; laser guided munitions; and military communications equipment and satellites.

Handbook of Defence Electronics and Optronics is an essential guide for graduate students, R&D scientists, engineers engaged in manufacturing defence equipment and professionals handling the operation and maintenance of these systems in the Armed Forces.

1
Military Communications

There is a host of technologies that are in use in the state‐of‐the‐art communications equipment used by the Armed Forces world over. Be it the land‐based systems or systems in use at sea, in air or space, military communications equipment embraces many technologies. No one technology dominates military communications systems; instead, a number of technologies are used to provide secure and reliable communications. Different generations of communications equipment have been in use by the Armed Forces for various applications over the last 100 years or so. Improvements seen in each new generation of communications equipment have been largely driven by the development of better hardware, including improved components, more sophisticated circuits and more precise manufacturing. The opening chapter begins with discussion on the fundamental topics of communication such as communication techniques and systems; antennas and propagation modes; optical communications including both free‐space communication, fibreoptic communication and laser communication, particularly for underwater applications. This is followed by detailed description of emerging concepts employed in the current generation of communications equipment such as software‐defined radio, net‐centric warfare and C⁴ISR. Some representative military communications equipment for the whole range of applications are briefly discussed towards the end.

1.1 Introduction to Military Communications

Military communications technologies are complex and wide ranging. Development of new technologies and advances in existing technologies has led to different generations of communications equipment. Each generation of equipment has leveraged enhanced life and performance of components and emergence of a range of new components due to technological advances. Extended operating time of portable radios used by the Armed Forces in the battlefield due to availability of new battery technologies is one such example. Some of the major concerns faced by military planners relate to improving security and reliability of communications. Another concern relates to integration, which means achieving interoperability among a wide range of communications systems and technologies.

Features and capabilities of communications equipment both for commercial and military usage are undergoing revolutionary changes leading to availability of new generation of sophisticated communications devices and equipment enabling faster, more secure, less costly and more flexible communications. As outlined in the previous paragraph, security and interoperability are the two major concerns. While security‐related issues have been resolved a large extent, integration of contrasting communications technologies (or in other words interoperability of different technologies and equipment) is one of the most important challenges facing military technology developers.

Modern radio and networking technologies such as smart phones, tablets, high‐speed networks and other sophisticated technologies offer many new opportunities, though they too pose challenges vis‐à‐vis security and interoperability issues. Very few communication devices have seen such rapid growth and usage and consequential benefits as the smart phones and tablets. Smart phones with touch screen interfaces, internet access and an operating system capable of executing downloaded apps perform many of the functions of a computer. A tablet too is a portable PC with a form factor slightly larger than that of a smart phone. Both can fit into the cargo pocket of a soldier’s uniform. Smart phone and tablet apps have given troops the ability to perform a range of tasks anytime anywhere and allowed commanders to instantly distribute essential documents directly to the troops. Network and device security concerns had earlier hindered widespread deployment of smart phones in the Armed Forces and with the availability of new generation smart phones, such as those using Google’s Android 6.0 Marshmallow OS, these concerns have been addressed. This has even brought smart phones onto classified networks enabling soldiers access secret level mission command computer systems. Reportedly, the US Government has certified some smart phones, such as the LG G5 using Android OS version 6.0.1 and the V10 using Android OS version 5.1.1 (Figure 1.1), for use in environments where security is the top concern.

Figure 1.1 LG’s V10 smart phone.

(Source: LG Electronics, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en.CC BY 2.0.)

Keeping pace with smart phone and other commercial radio innovations, the next major military communications relevant technology evolving quite rapidly is that of Ground Mobile Radio (GMR). GMR of the future will focus on two main approaches, namely Soldier Radio Waveform (SRW) and Wideband Networking Waveform. SRW is an open‐standard voice and data waveform used to extend wideband battlefield networks to the tactical edge. It is designed as a mobile ad‐hoc waveform and it functions as a router within a wireless network. It is used to transmit vital information over long distances and elevated terrains including mountains and other natural or manmade obstructions, and allows communication without a fixed infrastructure such as cellular tower or satellite. The WNW is the next‐generation high throughput military waveform, developed under the Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) Ground Mobile Radio (GMR) program. It uses the Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) Physic...