Wideband Networking Waveform (WNW) Host Simulator (WHS)

Abstract

The Wideband Networking Waveform Host Simulator (WHS) is a comprehensive testing tool used to aid the integration of Airborne, Maritime, and Fixed (AMF) platforms into the emerging Network Centric Warfare (NCW) environment. The AMF Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) is the next generation radio system that will replace current radio systems onboard military aircraft, maritime, and ground stations to meet the DoD vision of NCW. The DoD plans to outfit over 160 AMF platforms with JTRS terminals, which poses a great challenge to the Test & Evaluation (T&E) community responsible for validating the interoperability between these host platforms and the JTRS airborne network. Using the WHS system, the T&E community can circumvent many of the risks imposed by JTRS testing and integration – most important of which is the risk of incurring nonproductive flight test hours. In essence, the WHS is a ground station simulating an airborne host by providing a given JTR Set the various electronic stimuli it needs to “think” it is in flight operation over a given geographic area. Moreover, the WHS is used to plan simulated mission scenarios and inject tactical data onto the airborne network to be received by other units under test. The WHS employs three-dimensional terrain and scenario visualization techniques to enhance the situational awareness of test planners, trainers, and operators, reducing test scenario planning time and effort. The WHS is scheduled to be ready for the T&E community in FY09 to support the concurrent development, testing, and integration of JTR terminals into airborne platforms within the JTRS network.