MIDS/JTRS

Abstract

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. MIDS-LVT Block Upgrade 2 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 Cryptographic Modernization (CM) and the National Telecommunications and Information Agency (NTIA) and Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) mandated timelines for Frequency Remapping (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, and is fully compatible with MIDS-LVT. The MIDS JTRS Core Terminal achieved Full Fielding & Production (FP&F) in March 2012. 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 Link 16, Tactical Air Navigation (TACAN), and voice functionality found in MIDS-LVT, MIDS JTRS has four channels and adds capabilities such as Link 16 Enhanced Throughput (ET), Link 16 FR, software programmability, CM, and Four Net Concurrent Multi-Netting with Concurrent Contention Receive (CMN-4). 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. The FY20 Budget continues the development of the MIDS JTRS Link 16 transceiver hardware upgrade (formerly MIDS Modernization) to allow for field loadable updates. FY20 will include the Link 16 hardware Critical Design Review, Technical Readiness Review and the completion of the MIDS JTRS TTNT testing as well as the updates to the TTNT and Link 16 waveforms.

Document Details

• Document Type: Project
• Publication Date: Oct 01, 2020
• Source ID: 3020_0604280N_5_1319_PB_2020

Tags

Readers

• Naval Mine Countermeasure Systems Development.

Technology Areas

• Autonomy
• Autonomy - UAVs
• Fully Networked C3
• Fully Networked C3 - Command and Control
• Space