EBEM's Enhanced Capabilities Facilitate the Navy's Emerging Operational Requirements and Enable Bandwidth Efficient Communications over IP

Abstract

The MD-1366 Enhanced Bandwidth Efficient Modem (EBEM) with Ethernet Service Expansion Module (ESEM) is the STANAG 4486 ed. 3 compliant FDMA modem used by the Department of Defense (DoD) for Satellite Communications (SATCOM). Recently, features of the EBEM such as embedded Transmission Security (TRANSEC) and Antenna Handover (AH) have been enhanced to meet the US Navy's emerging operational requirements. EBEM's FIPS 140-2 level 2 certified TRANSEC capabilities have been enhanced to support simplex link establishment, allowing the Navy to support split IP operations, combining transponded SATCOM paths (WGS) with partially processed SATCOM paths (AEHF) to effectively produce a duplex path for user terminal sessions. EBEM's Antenna Handover capabilities have been extended to provide low processing delay while maintaining Bit Count Integrity (BCI) through handover events. These upgrades, along with existing features, to be deployed in conjunction with Advanced Digital Network System (ADNS) Increment IV will allow the Navy to smoothly transition to bandwidth efficient IP-based data. Most notably, the Navy will be able to leverage Adaptive Coding and Modulation (ACM) in conjunction with EBEM's flow control capabilities to feed information back to the router as the data rate adapts to the dynamic satellite channel conditions. This paper discusses the new capabilities in detail as well as recent results related to the Navy's effort to integrate the new features into ADNS.