IDLSoc NEWSLETTERAPRIL 2019

In This Issue…IDLS2019 News…

Introducing the Masterclass

IDLS2019 Pricing

Keynote Speaker Announcement

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Keynote Speaker AnnouncementWe are pleased to announce that the first of this year’s Keynote Speakers is AirVice Marshal “Rocky” Rochelle, the Chief of Staff for Capability in HQ AirCommand.

Rocky joined the Royal Air Force in May 1986 as a directentrant navigator. Following initial officer and basictraining, Rocky converted to the Tornado GR1, beginningfrontline flying with IX(B) Squadron at RAF Bruggen in1989.

He has since had an illustrious career within the RAFand MOD and has completed many successful toursincluding as Flight Commander with 14 Squadron at RAFBruggen, flying long duration sorties through Europeduring the Kosovo Campaign for which he was awardedthe Distinguished Flying Cross. He also completed twooperational tours of duty in the Gulf during his tour as

Commander of the 617 Squadron, including the General Petraeus’ surge period in thesummer of 2007 for which he was awarded an OBE.

He assumed command of RAF Marham in December 2009 have amassed more thanfive years on operations and three challenging tours of duty in the MOD. Oncompletion of this command, Rocky attended the Higher Command and Staff Courseat Shrivenham before returning to MOD in June 2013, in the rank of Air Commodore,as the new Head of Centre Managed Programmes, initially in charge of both theComplex Weapons programme and as Head of the Carrier Enabled Power Projection.Upon completion of this tour he was appointed Assistant Chief of Staff Support(ACOS) for Capability Development in Headquarters Air Command.

In April 2017 Rocky was promoted to Air Vice-Marshal and Chief of Staff Capability,Headquarters Air Command.

We would like to thank the below companies for their upcoming contributions to thisyear’s Demonstration. There is still time for you to be involved, please register online.

Demonstration

Air Vice-Marshal S P Rochelle OBE DFC MA RAF

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The two Masterclasses will be held over a periodof three days (24th, 25th and 28th of October) beforethe start of the Symposium and are as follows:

MIDS - JTRS & MIDS LVT BU2Masterclass

As the transition of crypto-modernised radios startto arise in more allied nations we are starting tosee the critical need for the basic to intermediatelevel of knowledge need for proper operation ofMIDS-JTRS and the Block Upgrade 2 (BU2) versionof the MIDS LVT. By adding more specific trainingin areas of concern to the operations andmaintenance of the MIDS-JTRS Software DefinedRadio (SDR) and MIDS LVT BU2 andunderstanding of the Software Architecture forboth radios. This new understanding will benefitany operator, maintainer, or engineer. This coursewill provide a fundamental overview of thesoftware architecture of the CMN-4 radio and theHMIG interface terminal web server use case inhow to conduct fault finding, diagnose and reportand the proper repair processes or level for theMIDS-JTRS. Secondly, the course will provide anoverview of the MIDS LVT BU2 Retrofit/Productionradios to include SRU and LRU overview, faultfinding and isolation, report and proper repairprocesses for the MIDS LVT BU2.

 This course will first introduce the radios and theirproper set up and operations. Proper set up caneliminate many faults that have been reported andclear up many issues that operators andmaintainers face. Following the properintroduction to both radios, a deeperunderstanding of operations, fault isolation,troubleshooting, crypto loading and repairprocesses will be addressed.

Full details can be found on the IDLS2019 website.

Multi TDL Masterclass

This 3-day masterclass will provide a detailedinsight into the challenges of Multi TDL evolution,exploring the employment, use and developmentpaths for the current primary TDLs1 adopted byNATO and partner nations. It will focus onoperational architectures for Multi TDL Networks,overviewing data forwarding rules and protocols,

managing effective interoperability across agrowing order of battle and area of operations.

The objectives that will be covered on theMasterclass will be as follows:

• The operational use of each TDL● Link 11● MIDS Link 16● JREAP● Link 22

• Architectures of Multi TDL Networks● Principals of forwarding architecture● Concept of Concurrent Interface Units

(Link 11, 16 (Inc JREAP) and Link 22)● Selection and Management of Forwarded

information?● Challenges and limitations in connecting

different protocols

• Multi TDL Standards● Overview of Standards (ATDLP 6.16, 7.33

and MIL STD 6020)● Data Forwarding Rules and Protocols● Managing Weaknesses/Challenges

• Managing Effective Interoperability● Through Life TDL Acquisition Best

Practice● IO Test and Evaluation● Managing System of System Issues

• Multi TDL concept of operations, employmentand use

● Operational planning considerations● Development of Standard Operating

Procedures (SOPs) to meet the emerginguse

The Multi TDL masterclass will be delivered byhighly experienced TDL subject matter experts andinstructors. The sessions will be delivered using abalance of theoretical presentations and instructorled workshops and practice, using realisticscenarios.

You will be able to book your place on theMasterclass when IDLS2019 Booking opens.

Introducing the IDLS2019MasterclassesThis year the Technical Committee are introducing Masterclasses to the IDLSschedule. Initially we will be holding two Masterclasses, one covering MultiTDLs and the other looking at MID-JTRS and BU2.

Training DayThe IDLS2019 Training Day will provide its usual high level of courses outlinedbelow.

This training is aimed at thosealready using Link 16 andthinking about the impact ofmodernisation at terminal,platform and system level. It willexplore the challenges andopportunities faced byorganisations that need to bringtogether datalink user, designersand acquisition staff to managethe business and operationalchange programme required bylink 16 modernisation. Thetraining would help participantsto identify, understand andaddress the criticalmodernisation issues andrequirements affecting Link 16capabilities in the data-drivenoperational context.

The course will provide anoverview of the iSMART toolsetprocess, encompassing thecriticality and benefits ofemplying the methodology andalso provide an overview of theeSMART toolset capabilities toaid in the planning of a Multi-TDL architecture fromdetermining the IER capabilityand providing a measure ofinteroperability through the lifeof an implementation. Thecourse will benefit new Nationsstill developing a TDL capabilityand companies involved thedevelopment of TDL System ofSystems solutions.

The rapid proliferation of Link 16across platforms, services andnations has produced a growingneed for reliable testing andintegration tools to guaranteeplatforms function as designedand within specifications. Thissession will explain anddemonstrate low-cost networkand Link 16 terminal emulationtechniques that allow fullplatform implementation testingbefore expensive live-fly testingbegins. This offers the mosteffective method to identify andfix implementation issues at theearliest possible moment.

The course is aimed at those newto VMF to provide a workingvocabulary of this protocolassuming no prior experience.The course will include suchtopics as introductions to VMFTactical Data Link, MIL-STD-6017,MIL-STD-2045-47001 and MIL-STD-188-220 as well as theFundamentals of Terminal PhaseClose Air Support andTroubleshooting VMFCommunications.

Link 16 is going through itsmost significant changes in itshistory. The evolution ofmessages and terminals hasbeen slow and steady over thepast 30+ years, but the currentpace of change has increased toa full-on sprint. The delivery ofMIDS Baseline Upgrade-2, MIDSJTRS CMN-4, multiple NetworkEnabled Weapon programmes,as well as Link 16 terminals ofunique shapes, sizes, andcapabilities ensures the securityand viability of Link 16 for thenext few decades whilechanging the shape of the futurebattlefield. This one-day trainingcourse will provide insight intothese new capabilities and howthey will affect operations in thefuture.

Training Day 2018

IDLS2019

Event Planning DayThis years Event Planning Day is taking place in the EdinburghInternational Conference Centre on the , and is achance for exhibitors to explore the venue and get all the latestinformation about this year’s event.To register please email communications_secretary@idlsoc.com

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More information can be found on the IDLS2019 website and can be booked on the IDLS2019booking system.

The Symposium Booking system will be going live shortly, but we are pleased to announce the pricing forthis years event.

All pricing is shown in $USD and includes UK VAT which is 20%

The Early Bird booking deal ends on Monday 19 August 2019.

If you are NOT a Society member, the cost of Membership is $75 and will be added during the registrationprocess. Members in their "Grace Period" and those who are "Lapsed" will have to renew theirmembership as part of the booking process. If you do not want to renew as part of the process, pleaseensure that your membership is active before booking.

We will keep you informed as soon as the Booking System is live.

The is a five minute walk away from the EdinburghInternational Conference Centre and offers stylish rooms each including aflat-screen TV with satellite channels, a work area, tea/coffee facilities and aprivate bathroom. On peak nights the Leonardo is holding 75 rooms forIDLS2019.Rooms must be booked directly with through the Hotel Website using theLeonardo booking code, which is linked to via the IDLS2019 SymposiumWebsite. The rates are as follows…

The cost includes buffet breakfast, Wi-Fi and VAT.Rooms must be booked by , so please be sure to book early to ensure a room.

Alternative accommodation is also available at the , in Edinburgh CityCentre. Located within walking distance from the EICC, the DoubleTree offerscontemporary bedrooms featuring complimentary WiFi and air conditioning alongwith all the other amenities you would expect. On peak nights the DoubleTree isholding 40 rooms for IDLS2019. The rates are as follows…

Rooms must be booked by and can only be booked by clicking the following link.

More information can be found at the IDLS2019 Symposium Website.

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Symposium Prices

Secure Your Hotel Rooms Now!

For further IDLS2019 updates and announcements, pleaseremember to visit idls2019.com

This years hotel rooms

Exhibitors

Gold Silver +

Silver Bronze +

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Bronze

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The first German Chapter meeting was held on 9April in Von Seydlitz, Kaserne, Kalkar, Germany.Lt Col Volker Schaaf and Mr. Kai Thurnerwelcomed all attendees to the meeting with theobjective to discuss the way forward for the newlyformed group, its aims and goals, settingschedules and locations for future meetings andelecting a Chairman and Co-Chairman.

Lt Col Volker Schaaf spoke as Chairman of theIDLSoc about the benefits of the Symposium andSociety for people working within the TDLcommunities, giving them a chance to exchangeknowledge and gain a better understanding ofTDL. It was brought to the attention of militaryparticipants that one day of attendance at IDLS isfree of charge for people in uniform which could beused as leverage for attending the Symposium.

Mr. Kai Thurner discussed basing German Chaptermeetings on those of the Nordic Chapter, enablingparticipates to understand the concept of aChapter meeting and to propose ideas for theChapter’s constitution. In order to promote itselfand draw in participants, the Chapter will allownon IDLSoc members to participate in up to threemeetings to determine if the Chapter offers thembenefits.

Coinciding with the German Timber Expressexercise, Austria and Switzerland were welcomedto the meeting allowing it to expand its focus.Both countries will be included in future meetings,transforming the Chapter into a German, Austrianand Swiss (DACH) Chapter.

Two meetings are to be held per year with thefollowing planned as the locations for theupcoming two meetings.

�� 2019 2nd Meeting at IDLS Edinburgh

�� 2020 1st Meeting at Calpe (March) or Tim-ber Express (later that year)

The Chapter has the intention of educating itsmembers and bringing in experts from within theTDL world and from other fields. Each meetingaims to have one or two presentations of around30 minutes introducing interesting topics to thecommunity.The following topics are on the agenda for the nextmeetings:

�� Artificial Intelligence (AI)

�� Network Enabled Weapons

�� TDL Training and Qualification

�� Central Information Platform for TDL

�� Requirements Engineering/RequirementsManagement

The Chapter has established the following goalsfor itself:

�� The German Chapter will help therepresentation of TDL competence ofGerman/DACH Government and Industry.

�� The German Chapter will take the changein the international security policy intoaccount and align its effort with them.

�� The German Chapter will acknowledgethe complexities of Multi-TDL anddevelop plans and support for thesescenarios.

�� The German Chapter will aim tostrengthen the European TDL market andwork to expand the European Cooperationin this area.

�� The German Chapter will promote TDLsbeyond its current horizon and informusers to better understand the place ofTDL in a digitally controlled world.

�� The German Chapter will provide aplatform to exchange knowledge andinformation about projects and ongoingdevelopments to support cooperation andavoid the repetition of previous mistakes.

It was decided to elect a Chairman and Co-Chairman. If the position of Chairman is held by anindustry/civilian person, then the position of Co-Chairman shall be held by an active militaryperson and vice versa. The posts shall be held forone year after which the election shall berepeated.The following people have been elected:

Kai Thurner (Industry Company: Atheniem)

Jens Paulzen (Military Captain)

1st German Chapter Meeting ReportSociety News

Kai Thurner reports back from the 1st German Chapter Meeting

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Report from 22nd NATO Tactical Data LinksSymposium (NTDLS)

On a Rainy Monday morning, around 115 delegatesarrived in Calpe, Spain for the 22nd NTDLSrepresenting 15 NATO Nations and 3 PartnerNations (Australia, Sweden and UAE).

Cdr Andreas Kernchen welcomed everyone to theevent and reminded delegates that symposiumtimetable and encouraging everyone to maximisetheir opportunities to network, share ideas andproblem solve.

The following four days were filled with 22presentations, 2 parallel workshops,demonstrations and 3 debriefings resulting insome lively debates and discussions aroundseveral topics.

Andreas set one of the enduring questions of thesymposium, whether Operators should talk toDevelopers. The starting point of theconversations was that Operators should nevertalk to Industry. Clearly the Industry delegates hada different view from the GovernmentRequirements Managers in the room. As the weekprogressed a consensus was reached that a set ofwell-defined requirements need to be created bythe requirements managers in conjunction withthe operators, ensuring all aspects are considered.There are often constraints that an operatormaybe unaware of which make their desiredsolution unachievable. However, it was alsogenerally accepted that to design the bestsolutions developers need to understand theoperator’s environment and the best way toachieve that is by talking to the operators.

Lt Cdr John Stephenson RN, of ACT, gave themeeting an update on the progress of theFederated Mission Networking (FMN) initiative.The initiative aims to enable fast and accurateinformation sharing and decision-making based ona common understanding and known capabilitiesprior to a potential mission.

Link 22 dominated the programme.Mr Francisco Gonzalez, of Airbus Defence andSpace, talked about the challenges of introducingLink 22 to the Air Environment when it was originaldesigned to be a ‘naval thing’. Key conclusionincluded:

●  Link 22 has finally become operational and isnow considered a real alternative for BLOScommunications in maritime environments.

●  HWs form factor reduction has allowed Nationsto consider this TDL for other kinds of platformswith space constraints, although space requiredfor the HF antennas may still be an issue forsome of them.

●  Air platforms currently performing maritime orrelaying operations may find their functionalityand interoperability levels enhanced by usingLink 22 although Link 16 will keep its dominantposition, as a more Air Operations friendly TDL.

●  Using SATCOM for BLOS requires an expensiveand dedicated architecture. On the contrary, HFcould represent a more cost-effective, but alsomore unpredictable solution.

●  A joint effort between Industry and Nations isrequired in order to foster the development ofLink 22 systems for airborne platforms

Mr Frederic Gimenez of Thales informed themeeting that Link 22 cannot use HF EPM(Electronic Protection Measure) and therefore willhave no HF frequency hopping as originallyplanned. He also included in his presentation theUHF Link of Sight formula. The presentationhighlighted that the UHF EPM will be key toensuring Link 22 can continue to operate whenfaced with intense jamming.

Emma Jane Taylor looks back at the recent NTDLS.

There was also a presentation from the NILE PMOand one of the workshops looked at Link 16/Link22 – The future of Data Forwarding. There wasagreement from the workshop that developing aCONOPS, for Data Forwarding was potentially thenext step.

Matt May of 3SDL, during his presentationencouraged everyone not to forget about theCyber Threat. He noted that in the TDL world weoften fool ourselves that we are immune to acyber-attack, but for many hackers the thrill isbreaking into whatever is claimed to beunbreakable. The attack could start withsomething being installed in equipment during themanufacturing process. His expert insights were:

●  People and the process are just asimportant as technology in protectinginformation.

●  Independent review is essential - we seetime and again that the people closest to

the system don't see the vulnerabilities intheir system.

●  Securing information needs a through-life approach. Addressing security only atthe design phase or when you bring acapability into service does not bringresults. Good security processes andtechnology will degrade over time.

Michael Kocin of Viasat also touched on thesecurity threat when briefing on TDL Gatewaysand the inherent challenges. Noting that softwaremust be certified by the US NSA andunderstanding the different classification levelsand different domains were key to securing thedata. He talked about how One-Way diodes couldbe key to maintaining the correct classificationsand emphasised the importance of no outsideconnections being permitted to the system.

Andreas closed the meeting with an invitation todelegates to attend next year’s NTDLS meeting.

Corporate Membership

We are pleased to announce that Data Link Solutions have renewed their Corporatemembership

For more information about becoming a Corporate Member of IDLSoc please clickhere.

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The course was held at an ADF facility in thelovely city of Canberra, and over the 4 daysrequired students to utilise their skills,knowledge and work in groups. The studentsdeveloped a series of complex Multi TDLPlanning exercises, where they had to design

architectures and coordinate the correctallocation of TDL parameters. The use of thissoftware greatly assisted each individual inestablishing a clearer understanding of thecomplexities in planning Multi TDLarchitectures.

We would like to thank all of those involved inthe training for their kind hospitality andsupport.

Australian Defence Force (ADF) Personnel completeTacPlan and TacSig Training Course

Corporate News

Viasat Next-Generation Link 16 Products AchieveAdvanced Concurrent Multiple ReceptionCapabilities Sought by U.S. Military

On April 10 2019 Viasat announced it hassuccessfully integrated CMR advancementsinto its extensive line of next-generation Link16 products-ahead of emerging governmentrequirements, to help ensure warfighters haveassured access to mission-criticalinformation when using Link 16communications - regardless of location (air,

land or sea) or platform (aircraft, groundvehicle, ship or dismount).

Viasat’s non-developmental item (NDI)-drivendevelopment processes will bring CMR Link16 capability to products that provide userswith access to simultaneous, resilientcommunications streams of mission-criticaldata. Viasat’s CMR Link 16 capabilities willalso allow military customers to both expandthe number of units with direct access to keytactical data while also addressing networkcongestion in order to adapt to emergingmission requirements and maintain a tacticaledge across today’s battlespace.

Click here to read the full press release.

The U.S military recently identified the need for Concurrent Multiple Reception (CMR)capabilities in Link 16 products as a way to enhance communications and reduce thenetwork congestion on Link 16 networks. CMR enables a Link 16 radio to receivemultiple messages simultaneously versus legacy radios that can only receive onemessage at a time.

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THALES, in collaboration with 3SDL Ltd, are extremely pleased to announce thatpersonnel from the Royal Australian Navy and NOVA Systems have successfullycompleted our Multi TDL Planning Software Application (TacPlan including TacSig)Course.

Date/Time Organisation &Location

Description

6 May 19Canberra, Australia

This session is free to IDLSoc members and AustralianGovernment employees.Registration is via the AS/NZ Chapter website –under “Training”

13-15 May 19Salzburg, Austria

The Tactical Communications Forum 2019 will beheld in the beautiful city of Salzburg in Austria. TheTCF focus is on providing an environment forpresentations and discussions only. The targetaudience for the TCF is Military, Government andIndustry personnel and is open for all attendees toprovide useful presentations.www.tactical-comms-forum.com

24 June 19

Edinburgh InterationalConference Centre

This is taking place in the EICC and is a chance forexhibitors to explore the venue and get all the latestinformation about this years event.To register please emailcommunications_secretary@idlsoc.com

28 Oct 19Edinburgh, Scotland

The 2019 Training Day be held at the Edinburgh Inter-national Conference Centre.

29-31 Oct 19Edinburgh, Scotland

IDLS2019 will be held at the Edinburgh InternationalConference Centre. More information to follow onwww.idls2019.com

11 Nov 19Canberra, Australia

The Australian TDL Interoperability Summit will beheld prior to MilCIS 2019 at the National ConventionCentre Canberra (NCCC) from 08:30 to 17:00. Theagenda will consist of Defence and Industry Briefingsand Networking opportunities.For the latest information, please visit the AS/NZChapter website here.

Events Diary

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Quickguides are availableFrom the IDLSoc Website