Armada’s monthly roundup of all the latest news in the military communications product, programme and operational domains.
Wraith Waveform for CUAV Mission
L3Harris has revealed that the company has evolved its proprietary Wraith tactical radio waveform to support Counter-Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle (CUAV) missions. The Wraith waveform uses frequencies of 225 megahertz/MHz to 450MHz and 1.3 gigahertz/GHz to 2.6 GHz. The company told Armada via a written statement that the CUAV augmentation to the Wraith waveform, known as Wraith Shield, is available as a software-only update. Taking lessons from ongoing operations around the world, L3Harris has developed the waveform to allow tactical radios thus equipped to operate as UAV sensors.
“Wraith Shield provides resilient communications while passively scanning the (radio frequency) spectrum for potential threats in the form of UAV command and control links” the company’s statement continued. Once a UAV has been detected via the transceiver, the Wraith Shield waveform can be employed to jam the radio link connecting the UAV to the pilot and their Ground Control Station (GCS). Given the Wraith waveform’s frequency waveband, UAV-GCS links within these can be detected and engaged. With the link disrupted the UAV may either land in situ or return to its launch point. The Wraith Shield CUAV waveform will be available as a software upgrade option for L3JHarris’ RF-9820S, RF-9820S-ER and AN/PRC-171 radios by the end of 2026.
Availability will be expanded in 2027 to make Wraith Shield available for all Wraith-compatible transceivers of which there are more than 100,000 currently fielded, the company added.
New Krypto500 Enhancements
COMINT Consulting has shared with Armada that it has performed a major overhaul of its Krypto500 Signals and Communications Intelligence (SIGINT/COMINT) system.
Krypto500 covers Extremely Low Frequency (ELF: three hertz/Hz to 30Hz) and High Frequency (HF: three megahertz/MHz to 30MHz) communications. The company stated that these latest improvements to the Krypto500 SIGINT/COMINT software cover “new decoders (Aquarius variant, DatronCCIR476-2), new variant decoders (AW448 variant #23), new Presets (T-600, Sitor-A variant, CCIR479-2) (and) new parsers (IPv4 over x.25)”.
Performance improvements to several existing modes, notably Akula, Hart SMART, IRA-ARQ and Keguri, have also been added. Other additions include Icom M700, RIPR PT-100Ts radio identification signatures and “multiple updates added to (the software’s) precision classifiers”. Kryto500 users can install this software update using a special, one-time file transfer protocol system.
by Dr. Thomas Withington
