| AN/TRC-170 tactical troposcatter terminals have served the Army, Air Force and Marines for nearly 30 years but, on the future battlefield, they require too many vehicles/trailers for transport, consume too much fuel, need special skills for operation, are slow to setup and have data rates limited to 4 Mbps. Ideally, a next generation tactical troposcatter terminal would be self-contained on a single vehicle (including antenna and generator), provide automated rapid setup/operation with no special skills, and achieve data rates in excess of 16 Mbps. Furthermore, if an application range is found to be too great for troposcatter, the ideal terminal would be easily reconfigured into a satcom terminal of comparable data rate. |