First successes with SDR Networking Lab

MARC A. KING

A first version based on FlexNet-One delivered to an international customer Thales, a key player in software-defined radio (SDR), has announced the first deliveries of its SDR Networking Lab solution, which enables customers to develop and adapt their own SDR-standard waveforms and integrate them with SDR platforms.

The SDR Networking Lab is a complete set of tools and solutions that let users define, develop and adapt new generations of waveforms with highdata- rate and network-centric capabilities. These waveforms can subsequently be ported to SDR systems compliant with the software communications architecture (SCA) international standard.

With the shift to network-centric operations, the SDR Networking Lab gives national armed forces and regional defence organisations the ability to develop their own network waveforms to meet their specific operational requirements, with guaranteed joint and combined forces and international interoperability.

The SDR Networking Lab is based on two complementary tools:

• Com Lab, which uses advanced simulation to help users specify the system and network characteristics of tactical communication systems for forces in the field, as well as their operational benefits.
• Waveform Lab, which supports the development, transfer and integration of waveforms on a wide range of SDR platforms, in compliance with the SCA standard (such as the FlexNet-One platform).

“Thales is proud to announce these first successes with the SDR Networking Lab, which confirm our position as a key partner in the development of SDR technologies and standards,” said Patrice Caine, Thales Vice President in charge of Radiocommunications business. “At a time when almost all operations are conducted by coalition forces, software-defined radio, with its unique capacity for interoperability, is a crucial component in the continuing evolution of the digitised battlespace.”

Thales is involved in the European Secure Software Defined Radio (ESSOR) programme and is an active contributing member of the Wireless Innovation Forum.