24 October 2022

Euronaval 2022: MilSOFT showcases new datalink

by Giles Ebbutt

The graphic shows Link-M integrated with other tactical datalinks. (Giles Ebbutt)

Turkish company MilSOFT showcased its new indigenous tactical datalink system (TDLS) at the Euronaval 2022 maritime exhibition in Paris in October.

According to the company, the new Link-M enables information-sharing between land, sea, and air platforms using existing or new high, very-high, ultra-high frequency (H/V/UHF) radios and digital satellite communications (satcom) channels.

With an electronic counter-countermeasures (ECCM) capability provided by frequency-hopping, the system can use national encryption for security. It supports multinetwork operating and is compatible with NATO Link 11, Link 16, and Link 22, with data forwarding supported using the MilSOFT multi datalink processor. It can provide link network management, control, and monitoring.

Other functions include position location information (PLI); platform and system status; track correlation; weapon management and co-ordination; command messages; platform control; and track number management.

The Link employs a multinetwork system up to a total of eight networks, with each Link-M unit participating in up to four networks including satcom channels. It provides a Link independent standard interface for command-and-control (C2) systems, provides support for additional military layers (AMLs), has a user-friendly integrated Link console human machine interface (HMI), and can be deployed on standard commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware.

A company representative told Janes that Link-M had been developed as a private venture to provide potential customers with a national TDLS solution with sovereign crypto. He said that it had not been developed against any particular requirement but the Asia-Pacific region was a potential market, although there were no confirmed customers yet.

Turkish company MilSOFT showcased its new indigenous tactical datalink system (TDLS) at the Euronava...

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