Data Link Solutions, a joint venture between BAE Systems and Rockwell Collins, Inc., has secured a contract with the U.S. Navy to provide Small Form Factor (SFF) Link 16 radios, utilising BAE Systems’ FireNet Link 16 tactical systems.
Amber Dolan, director of Adaptive Communications and Sensing at BAE Systems, highlighted the system’s distinctive features, stating, “We have developed a first-of-its-kind small form factor system that enables full Link 16 connectivity. FireNet is scalable and modular, providing our service personnel with a significant advantage in network-centric environments across various domains.”
Compliant with Crypto Modernisation 1 standards, BAE say that the FireNet system offers exceptional transmit power in a SFF radio, meeting the current and future requirements of fleets.
“The system adeptly addresses size, weight, power, and cost (SWaP-C) considerations and is adaptable across multiple platforms such as rotary-wing aircraft, unmanned vehicles, maritime vessels, and space platforms. It supports enhanced line-of-sight voice, data, and network communications from very high frequency to S-Band.”
The production and integration of the FireNet system are slated for BAE Systems’ facilities in Wayne, New Jersey; Austin, Texas; Fort Wayne, Indiana; and Hudson, New Hampshire. The system’s qualification and certification processes are scheduled to begin in 2024, signalling a significant enhancement in the tactical communication capabilities of the U.S. Navy.
UKDJ’s photos and images are top draw
Also George and his drone have provided birds eye images of the new build type 26’s and the second UK and Scottish frigate factory
Since HMS Glasgow was put on the barge for fitting out I have not seen any pictures of her
Any chance of any George?
There have been some on various stories on here if you work back but tbh there is nothing very revealing as it’s pretty obscured and necessarily from some distance.
Thankyou
The latest was a post by UKDJ on the 20th of last month which I missed
2 photos of HMS Glasgow heavily wrapped up.
I was hoping that she might have been revealing herself
I asked him about this a couple of months ago and got a reply. George is always at great pains to make clear he is responsible and legal drone operator.
Unfortunately Scotstoun is in Glasgow Airports 5km Drone Flight Restriction Zone.
So not much chance ☹️
Thanks for that
I was hoping for a bird’s eye view and your reply explains all. It did occur to me that there could be a drone exclusion zone either for security /safety.
Hopefully BAE will release some photos or let George in when she sheds her wraps and reveals all🙂
Not related to this but hey as there is an image of a drone at the top. Read yesterday on a Ukranian outlet that anti drone jamming equipment supplied by Britain in recent weeks is proving very effective against Shahed drones.
This is a lot cheaper and more possible than endless truck loads of missiles.
Shahed is very unsophisticated.
Vitally important component for an effective drone swarm, especially if integrated with AI machine thinking. It is in systems like this that the Western world will maintain their qualitative superiority over our potential enemies.
Important for everything really.
You might have a comms relay that is line of sight from a digitally silent T45 and that then relayed on line of sight to another platform to use its effectors.
The T45 is then an EM black hole.
Exactly, it’s this kind of thing that makes drones (air, surface, subsurface with a surface transponder) truly capable of AEW, ASW and other similar missions. They aren’t able to process the data on board, and we’re going to insist on man-in-the-loop for some time anyway, so need to be able to send it back effectively.