Military

Communications Challenges in DIL Environments

June 16, 2020

Disconnected, intermittent, limited (DIL) environments are typically contested spaces where communications are challenged. A DIL environment can be caused by electronic warfare attacks and pose a serious threat to expeditionary or early entry operations that do not have the support of high capability systems.

During an operation, commanders must work through all hurdles and challenges that may arise, even those that include loss of communications in a DIL environment. Every commander must have a plan for what happens when the technological advantage disappears.

The typical response to disrupted communications at the tactical edge is the use of multipath diversity. Training warfighters on the disparate pieces of equipment needed for this can be time-consuming and costly. To exasperate the issue, most units are single-threaded in terms of communications, meaning there are only a few people allocated to support entire missions.

 

The Solution

REDCOM platforms support multi-path ecosystems that can be used in DIL environments. Our combination of call controllers, gateways, and end-user devices allow for smooth and quick set-up, maintenance, and administration. In congested DIL environments where there is competition for finite bandwidth, REDCOM supports critical capabilities such as MLPP, bandwidth budgeting, time of day routing, Quality of Service (QoS), automatic route selection, and executive right of way.

For contested DIL environments where enemies and adversaries deliberately attempt to deny communication, REDCOM seamlessly provides legacy gateways (i.e. E1/T1, analog, and BRI), hardened 2-wire field phones, and support for radio gateways that enable the simultaneous use of multiple communication paths.

DIL Environments Disconnected, intermittent, limited

Most solutions can only be used at a given echelon level due to the required level of power, size/weight, or technical support. However, REDCOM solutions are inherently “Low SWaP”, meaning they require very little power and are easy to maintain/admin/support, which allows for use across all echelon levels.

For brigade and higher units, REDCOM’s platforms scale to handle greater user demand while simultaneously supporting a wide variety of communications paths to various other groups.

For tactical edge units that move mostly on foot, REDCOM understands that low SWaP and ease of use are keys to success. This is why we are intensely focused on engineering communications solutions that are lightweight, flexible, and incredibly easy to set up.