| Network communications have always presented a set of operational and technical challenges. This is particularly true for the physically and spectrally constrained operational environments of dismounted Soldier and unmanned system platforms. Over the past ten years, the DARPA and the U.S. Army have made a significant investment in the development of advanced network communications optimized for the operational needs of the ground mobile tactical environment. These network centric operational concepts have matured through the technology development and demonstration of the Soldier Radio Waveform (SRW) aimed at transition under the DoD's Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) network enterprise system. The SRW is a multimode, mobile ad hoc network (MANET) with advances in wideband communications and radio frequency agile operations at tactical edges of the battles pace. The SRW provides interoperability with other emerging JTRS networking waveforms and system platforms through compatibility with Internet Protocol (IP) -based network applications. For this reason, the Joint Program Executive Office (JPEO) for JTRS has adopted SRW as a baseline complementary system capability for the U.S. Army Future Combat System (FCS) Brigade Combat Team (BCT) Spin Out #1 providing interoperability between manned and unmanned systems. This paper provides an overview of the genesis of SRW, its origins in the DARPA Small Unit Operations Situation Awareness System (SUO SAS) program, its maturation under the U.S. Army CERDEC Soldier Level Integrated Communications Environment (SLICE) Project, and its emergence under the JTRS Program of Record Operational concepts, system architecture requirements, and technical performance will be reviewed from technical testing and operational assessments in high fidelity laboratory and operationally relevant field test environments. |