Comtech's new, small form factor troposcatter platform dubbed the Multipath Radio (MPR). (Comtech)
Satellite communications (satcom) development company Comtech is looking to leverage its latest troposcatter radio platform as a viable method for drone swarm command-and-control (C2), company officials told Janes .
The company's new Multipath Radio (MPR) fills the gap between “very small form factor, traditional tactical radios and … very, very large form factor troposcatter [systems]”, said Daniel Gizinski, president of Comtech's Satellite & Space Communications Segment.
The MPR platform, as designed, is “able to bridge everything in between very short-range line-of-sight [communications] to very long distance” beyond line-of-sight (BLOS) transmissions within a 70 to 100 mile range, Gizinski said during a February interview.
“It is kind of a ‘built for the real world' type of tactical radio”, due to reductions in size, weight, and power (SWaP) requirements designed into the MPR.
Developed shortly after the Second World War, tropospheric scatter or troposcatter technology is a means of long-range communication consisting of the bouncing of microwave radio signals off the Earth's troposphere.
Once the microwave passes through the troposphere, the signals ‘scatter' and descend across a wide area and are picked up by ground relay stations, often miles away from the initial transmission site.
US Marine Corps, Army, and special operations units have leveraged traditional, large-scale troposcatter capabilities already, Gizinski said. The MPR is envisioned “as a little bit more of an expeditionary capability” specifically targeting small units, he noted.
In terms of power consumption during a given operational scenario, the MPR “runs off more power than a handheld tactical radio and definitely starts to bridge towards something that looks more like a very low power satellite terminal”, he said.
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