Nations across the world are realizing the enhanced capability of L3Harris Technologies’ Country Wide Repeater System (CWRS), which creates a scalable Internet Protocol radio area network leveraged from as few as two of the company’s RF-7850M or RF-7800V radios or a single RF-7850D three-channel radio.
CWRS provides a low-footprint, affordable solution to secure borders and provide instant area of responsibility connectivity anywhere for ground, air, maritime or special forces. It is field proven to expeditiously secure areas and establish communications network formations during critical operations, including humanitarian aid and disaster relief missions.
“Our solution’s infrastructure allows for scalability, enabling countries to select the best fit for them based on their specific use case,” Ian Young, L3Harris product line manager, said. “You can have four stations or 40 or 400 – it’s contingent on how large of an area you’re trying to cover.”
Compatible and optimized with the L3Harris Falcon III® Family of Radios, the CWRS provides nations with a cost-effective, modular narrowband radio solution for tactical and strategic operations, including border security.
“Customers can see cost savings in that they can leverage radio equipment they already own – there’s not a significant infrastructure investment to implement CWRS,” Young said. “It has a flexible architecture that allows for connection either through High Capacity Line of Sight radios or ground-laid cabling.”
Each CWRS repeater site has two RF-7850M or RF-7800V radios or a single RF-7850D three-channel radio, which can link in-area radios together. Additional repeater locations can connect through microwave radios, including the L3Harris Falcon III® RF-7800W, or fiber connections, according to Brad Hall, L3Harris lead product analyst. Each repeater site enables communications in excess of 25 kilometers, which can be further extended through the microwave or fiber assets.
Encrypted security keys pass between the repeater radio to provide an additional level of security for geographically separated teams to communicate pervasive voice, situational awareness and Internet Protocol data through a common grid.
Repeating Success
CWRS was borne from a previous Falcon II® capability known as the “advanced repeater,” according to Hall. The advanced repeater was a customer-driven border-protection system to expand the reach of a traditional Line of Sight (LOS) radio network. Designing a full-fledged, tailorable system from this technology was a natural evolution.
“The network behind the connected radios knows exactly where you are and sends the information to the closest advantaged node to link the radios together,” Hall said. “We make this repeater network across an area with towers, and all you need to know is my contact information – not my location – to contact me, regardless of what tower is closest to me.”
L3Harris engineers developed the solution to be as user-friendly as possible so operators are not required to learn how to switch networks or change IP addresses, he added. Further, using one interface to receive group-calling, selective user and broadcast call modes reduces the overall system complexity compared to other options in the market.
Half a dozen countries are currently fielding the system, which was released in 2015, according to Hall.
“No other company in the market provides a system with this capability,” Hall said. “The whole system is optimized for peak performance. It’s all L3Harris product – fully integrated, tested and mature for maximum optimization.”
Tightly Knit Network
A key benefit is the “tightness of the integration” across the L3Harris-provided platforms within the system, Tim Soine, L3Harris Product Management director, said. The seamless operations between the company’s RF-7850 and High Capacity Line of Sight (HCLOS) radios allows for a maintainable and upgradable communications ecosystem all from one manufacturer, leading to customer cost savings.
“Our RF-7800W system can make this Country Wide Repeater System a mobile solution, if you needed to make an ad hoc site through a vehicular system,” Soine said, speaking to the flexibility the solution provides.
The company is investigating areas to expand the interoperability of CWRS, including additional legacy radio support, Hall said. Additionally, the system can integrate additional waveforms into its network.