Company looks to reduce bulk of soldiers' comms systems

In recent years, defence organisations have invested in a variety of custom radio systems, using many different types to perform certain tasks. ‘None of this kit quite communicates with each other,’ said Tim Phipps, wireless homeland security business development manager at Cambridge Consultants.

Attempting to get all these different radio systems to cooperate through one device and provide seamless communications is a major challenge as they each employ different frequencies, modulation speeds and data speeds.

‘The military used to buy single-function radios, which were very good at doing one thing but over the years they’ve built up a lot of this kit and they can’t just throw it away,’ said Phipps.

Software-defined radios (SDRs) are able to integrate different communication systems so they all work through one device. However, they are bulky, heavy devices that are hard to transport.

Phipps said a more compact SDR would enable a ground soldier to communicate seamlessly with aircraft, marine vessels and other soldiers.