
UNCLASSIFIED
PE 0205604N: Tactical Data Links
UNCLASSIFIED
Navy Page 2 of 26 R-1 Line #220
Exhibit R-2, RDT&E Budget Item Justification: PB2021Navy
Date: February 2020
Appropriation/Budget Activity
1319: Research, Development, Test & Evaluation, Navy / BA 7: Operational
Systems Development
R-1 Program Element (Number/Name)
PE 0205604N / Tactical Data Links
The Multifunctional Information Distribution System (MIDS) program office is the Lead Service for Department of Defense (DOD) Link 16 capability and consists of two
(2) product lines, MIDS Low Volume Terminal (LVT) (legacy hardware defined radio) and MIDS Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) (software defined radio). MIDS-LVT
effort is a cooperative development program between France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United States with United States joint service participation (Navy, Army,
Air Force), and has provided over 11,000 terminals to 48 Nations providing interoperability with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and coalition partners. The
Department of Defense (DoD) established the program to design, develop, and deliver low volume, lightweight tactical information system terminals for U.S. and allied
fighter aircraft, bombers, helicopters, ships, and ground sites. MIDS-LVT significantly increases force effectiveness and minimizes hostile actions and friend-on-friend
engagements. The current development program for LVT is the Block Upgrade 2 (BU2) effort designed to meet the Cryptographic Modernization (CM) and Frequency
Remapping (FR) mandates required for all US and international users which occurs inside the FYDP. MIDS-LVT BU2 was executed as an ECP and provides the critical
upgrades to the MIDS-LVT Terminal to enable U.S., Coalition and International partners' ability to meet the National Security Agency (NSA) mandated timelines for CM
and the National Telecommunications and Information Agency (NTIA) and Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) mandated timelines for FR.
MIDS JTRS, designed as a pre-planned product improvement (P3I) and executed as an engineering change proposal (ECP) to the production MIDS-LVT configuration,
completed qualification in the first quarter of fiscal year 2010. It facilitated the JTRS incremental approach for fielding advanced JTRS transformational networking
capability and transformed the MIDS-LVT into a 4-channel, Software Communications Architecture (SCA) compliant, Joint Tactical Radio. A form-fit-function replacement
to MIDS-LVT, MIDS JTRS also adds three programmable 2 Megahertz (MHz) to 2 Gigahertz (GHz) channels capable of hosting the JTRS legacy and networking
waveforms. In addition to the Link 16, Tactical Air Navigation, and voice functionality found in MIDS-LVT, MIDS JTRS has four channels and adds capabilities such
as Link 16 Enhanced Throughput, Link 16 Frequency Re-mapping, software programmability, cryptographic modernization, and Four Net concurrent multi-netting with
concurrent contention receive (CMN-4). MIDS Modernization Increment 1 will be fielded with all MIDS JTRS CMN4 terminals. The upgrade of the Link 16 transceiver will
provide more capacity to host software and firmware and increase multi-path use.
The TTNT waveform is the next waveform to be added to the MIDS JTRS terminal. TTNT is a low latency, high throughput waveform that has the capability to support
data exchange between fast-moving tactical aircraft, weapons, and unmanned aircraft, in addition to air, land, and sea-based command and control nodes, in a variety
of air-to-air and air-to-ground missions including time sensitive targeting, air warfare, close air support, non-traditional ISR, and anti-surface warfare. TTNT capability
integration into the MIDS JTRS directly supports Naval Integrated Fire Control (NIFC) capability requirements. These capabilities provide Joint Airborne Network-Tactical
Edge functionality to run advanced mission applications in a cross-platform/cross-domain tactical network enterprise, the TTNT capability will be in addition to the CMN-4
terminal providing Link 16 capability, and the ability to simultaneously participate in four Link 16 Nets.
MIDS JTRS Tactical Targeting Network Technology (TTNT), is a block upgrade to the MIDS JTRS CMN-4 Terminal provides an Internet Protocol-based networking
capability on tactical aircraft. TTNT is a low latency, high throughput waveform that has the capability to support data exchange between fast-moving tactical aircraft,
weapons, and unmanned aircraft, in addition to air, land, and sea-based command and control nodes, in a variety of air-to-air and air-to-ground missions including
time sensitive targeting, air warfare, close air support, non-traditional ISR, and anti-surface warfare. TTNT capability integration into the MIDS JTRS directly supports
Naval Integrated Fire Control (NIFC) capability requirements. These capabilities provide Joint Airborne Network-Tactical Edge functionality to run advanced mission
applications in a cross-platform/cross-domain tactical network enterprise.
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