Ku-band Tactical Common Data Link (TCDL) Hawklink System—MH-60R LAMPS Helicopter

Harris Corporation, as the team leader working with BAE SYSTEMS, is developing the TCDL Ku-band data link system for use by the U.S. Navy shipbased LAMPS MH-60R helicopters. The TCDL development program evolved from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)-sponsored TCDL. The U.S. Navy PMA 299 program office subsequently awarded the TCDL development program through a research and development effort that will soon be followed by a more traditional production contract. The Harris/BAE SYSTEMS TCDL team is a certified contractor for TCDL-related contracts.

The objective of the LAMPS TCDL development program, CDL Hawklink, is to design, develop, test, and deliver production ready Ku-band systems for implementation into LAMPS MK III MH-60 helicopters and their complement of LAMPS-capable surface ships such as the DDG-51, FFG-7, and CG-47. The TCDL solution will upgrade the existing C-band data link with airborne and shipboard equipment operating at a higher data rate and at a more available Ku-band frequency range. It is also being designed to be Common Data Link (CDL) compliant in order to provide interoperability with other legacy and future CDL systems needed for Network Centric Operations.

The CDL Hawklink solution is a highspeed, air-to-surface, digital data link that transmits data, imagery, electronic support measures, communications, and radar information gathered by the helicopter’s sensors to be multiplexed and transmitted in excess of 100 nm, at a rate of 10.71 and 21.42 megabits per second, to the host ship via the Ku-band link. The transmission is then received, near real-time, at the surface ship via an above and below deck terminal system, down-converted from Ku-band to required baseband levels, and finally distributed throughout the ship for further interrogation, analysis and exploitation. The forward look provided by the helicopter sensors provides ample time for the ship’s processing, interrogation, and decision making necessary to counter a myriad of threats from over the horizon.

For more information, please contact a HarrisSenior Executive Account Manager.