Beyond line-of-sight communications for autonomous systems project initiative

During Dimdex expo Spectre Solutions signed MoU agreement with Qatari Rheinmetall Barzan Advanced Technologies company. New project initiative that MoU was signed for involves mutual work on project “Beyond line-of-sight communications for autonomous systems”.

The reason behind the project is that all remotely controlled vehicles struggle with a problem regarding the range of control. It is very difficult to provide a range control system capable of delivering telemetry signals (not to mention video) for more than a couple of kilometers in mountain/city areas.

Static systems based on masts have more vulnerabilities since the enemy is capable of tracking C2 relatively very easily (masts are easy to spot). Not to mention that systems that is relying on static infrastructure cannot redeploy very quickly. 

One can implement a system that works using SAT communication but this type has significant disadvantages in terms of autonomy which are cost, weight, power consumption, and latency. 

Spectre-1 can perform the role of network relay in the field. Communication system UAV is equipped with can transmit signals using radio mesh capabilities. At the same time, the entire network is in constant movement which makes it very tough to neutralize. By using antennas onboard UAV C2 gains capabilities of having very high antennas (around 150m AGL) that can significantly extend the effective range of operations for unmanned vehicles.

During the expo, Spectre Solutions presented the idea to Barzan Holdings stakeholders and the company pitch received positive reception.