Mellori Solutions has been selected to provide a suite of electronic warfare (EW) training tools that will provide a robust and practical training capability to Australian Army EW operators.
Developed with Mellori’s partner LOG.IN, Italy, the family of COTS products will allow the ADF to generate a complex electromagnetic spectrum (EMS) that combines different signal waveforms and communication standards. The spectrum produced by the EXERCISE RF software will stimulate any EW mission system via radio frequency (RF) cables or through-air transmission for both training and pre deployment, or verification and validation purposes.
Mellori Executive Director, Phil Guy, commented “the real value of practical and repeatable EW mission training could not be overstated, this is by large the greatest benefit to a training establishment ensuring the intended learning outcome is achieved. Actual operations currently taking place around the world need to be rehearsed and this technology will provide students with a real, comprehensive feel for the electromagnetic environment they will be called upon to conduct operations against”.
“Via mapping overlays and the use of Digital Terrain Elevation Data (DTED), we can literally put a team of soldiers in an Area of Operations and replicate their Line of Sight on Areas of Interest. The benefit being prepared, informed operator, reducing the learning curve on deployments”.
EXERCISE RF consists of a set of scenario simulation tools (software) that generate and replicate a real RF spectrum. One of the key features of EXERCISE RF is that the EMS is generated based on a tactical scenario (storyboard) which is entirely manipulable, by which the instructor defines emitter positions, student positions and scripts that indicate the signal modulation type, frequency and power level as well as when each emitter transmits.
Additionally, the traffic on that network can be as realistic as the expectation of real-world adversaries, or as far-fetched as the instructor desires. The script used in each network will allow the student to practice the basics of analysis to determine hierarchical structure, identify what role that network plays and subsequently advise on priority-based targeting. Keywords, codenames, coverterms and low-level substitution codes are used to facilitate the students conduct of first-line analysis.
Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney, The Hon. Stuart Ayres MP said: “This new electronic warfare technology highlights the strengths and capabilities of NSW-based defence industry. It will contribute to Defence capability, create significant commercial opportunities and generate highly skilled jobs in the Shoalhaven.”
Mellori’s training technicians and scriptwriters are on track to deliver and install the EW training solutions to support individual and collective training requirements of the ADF by the end of 2021. The training solutions are immersive, collaborative, and future-proofed to adapt across the continual changes experienced when working in and across the EMS.