BAE Systems Demonstrates Technology Linking Dissimilar Radios to Improve Military Communications

WAYNE, N.J. --- BAE Systems has demonstrated networked communications technology that bridges dissimilar radio systems to give pilots and soldiers greater access to intelligence data, imagery, and video. The AXCESS (Assured Exchange of Communications and Enterprise Services System) is designed to enable pilots and soldiers to communicate with Internet protocol-based radios that span multiple bandwidths and frequencies.>> The company demonstrated the system during the Air Forces Electronic Systems Groups (ELSG) Capstone II test event in Patuxent River, Maryland.>> Todays soldier does not have the wireless access to timely information that the everyday cell phone or BlackBerry user does, said Tom Gregg, who leads development of the AXCESS system for BAE Systems. Our system provides reliable, secure, and timely access to the intelligence information our service members need in the field.>> The Air Force and other air, sea, and ground military forces use various radio systems that operate on different wavelengths and formats, resulting in limited or no connectivity among units using incompatible systems. AXCESS connects and manages the communications across these dissimilar systems to provide a seamless and secure network for all forces.>> Capstone II, conducted by the ELSGs Airborne Network Enterprise Division and MITs Lincoln Labs, examined use of wideband airborne networking and the militarys Common Data Link program to improve communications. It measured the performance of the U.S. Air Forces airborne network, a series of communications systems designed to maintain connectivity between pilots and the ground as aircraft pass through different networks.