SC-Orderwire for the Airborne Network

ABSTRACT: In this Phase II proposal Silvus proposes to develop a prototype Airborne Network Orderwire system. The prototype called Silvus Communications Orderwire (SC-Orderwire) is based on the architecture that Silvus has developed in Phase I. Silvus proposes to demonstrate the SC-Orderwire prototype in Phase II in an airborne network with 1 ground and 3 airborne nodes. Each SC-Orderwire maintains a local database of node locations, radio parameters, application QoS requirements and network management information. SC-Orderwire architecture includes data replication and replicated computation features to maintain the consistency of distributed databases despite network partition and merges. SC-Orderwire requires no external coordination to setup and its MAC protocol seamlessly handles node join/leave and network partition/merges. To limit overhead and enhance LPD and scalability SC-Orderwire architecture includes airborne node location prediction. PHY layer of SC-Orderwire leverages Silvus"unique expertise with multi-antenna technology to provide a large one-hop link range of 150-200 km for data rate sufficient for Orderwire application using small inexpensive aerodynamic omni-directional antennas and no external power ampliers. SC-Orderwire uses a MIMO-OFDM waveform in the L-band. Additional range is achieved by the use of optimized relay capability at the SC-Orderwire network layer. SC-Orderwire uses multi-antenna adaptive beamforming to protect against adversarial jamming. BENEFIT: The techniques being developed under this program could have wide applicability with many types of mobile networks. The use of mobile networks is expected to explode both in military and civilian applications. The military airspace directly addressed by this proposal will become increasingly crowded with manned and ever more unmanned systems, making the coordination function addressed in this proposal critical to network efficiency and reliability. Even the civilian airspace might benefit from the techniques being developed. New concepts in air traffic control envision data communication directly between planes. Unmanned systems will almost certainly be introduced into the civilian airspace in coming years, putting additional coordination burdens on the system and likely requiring increased amounts of direct air to air data exchange. Even on the nations highways, proposed networks such as WAVE for passing traffic and safety information from car to car might benefit from concepts developed under this program.