More than 3,000 Army civilians at Tobyhanna Army Depot in Pennsylvania understand that readiness for the warfighter is paramount. American warfighters do not have the luxury of waiting when duty calls. Like the Minutemen who could respond almost instantly to threats during America's founding years, the service men and women of the Army must be ready to go at a moment's notice to defend the nation and render assistance anywhere in the world.
Tobyhanna Army Depot provides an important piece of that readiness, said Depot Commander Col. Gregory Peterson. The depot's technicians, engineers and logisticians are recognized leaders in providing world-class support for command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems across the Department of Defense.
Tobyhanna's corporate philosophy and business model, dedicated workforce and electronics
expertise ensure the depot is the joint C4ISR provider of choice for all branches of the Armed Forces and industry partners.
A key function for maintaining readiness is keeping essential communications and electronics systems and components functioning at the highest level. Two such upgrade missions involve worldwide satellite communications and the detection and defeat of Improvised Explosive Devices.
WORLDWIDE SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS ENHANCED
Tobyhanna technicians and engineers are working with the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command's Logistics Readiness Center to upgrade the AN/TSC-93 Lynx satellite terminal.
The Lynx is a tactical satellite system that provides a secure and interoperable communications terminal serving a wide range of DOD applications. The latest model, the E-Model Lynx upgrade, extends the service life until 2025. Lynx provides the warfighter with optional point-to-point or multi-point tracking facilities. Working through the Defense Satellite Communications System satellites, either short- or long-range communications can be quickly established without mid-point repeaters or extensive site preparation.
Depot and LRC personnel developed a prototype addition of a secure/non-secure antenna for the Lynx. Working under the direction of the Service Life Extension Program office, this prototype added new simultaneous transmit and receive capability to the system through new hardware and software.
"We also reconfigured the factory modems to increase band rate significantly," said Electronics Mechanic Dennis Thorne, Satellite Communications Branch.
The upgrade allows the terminal to transmit and receive more than 100 megabits per second operating over three different satellites simultaneously. Users no longer have to use a serial interface, significantly increasing efficiency, said John Nicholoff, chief of Tobyhanna's Tactical
Satellite Systems Section.
The Lynx terminal has two tactical fiber optic cable assembly connections and seven Ethernet
connections to support Internet Protocol and fiber interfaces. New ports were added on the signal entry panel to support multiple interfaces. Soldiers can now connect routers, switches and serial
devices directly to the Lynx terminal through different types of cable, including Ethernet and fiber optic, simultaneously. This gives each unit different paths with multiple inputs through the Lynx terminal supporting five signal types, which Nicholoff noted is unprecedented in satellite communications.
The current configuration using the AS--3036 Antenna or Lightweight High Gain Antenna, along with the optional addition of a secure/nonsecure Internet access antenna, allows users to have simultaneous dual band capability.
"We also added four L-band ports, two for transmission and two to receive, so the terminal can support two additional antennas, one Lynx Ka-band and one for any other that the customer needs," Thorne said.
Based on the configuration used within the terminal, each antenna is capable of transmitting and receiving at a much faster rate. The Lynx prototype was tested in the Pacific earlier this year during a training exercise.
"A command post was connected to a Joint Network Node which used a Lynx and a Satellite Transportable Terminal," Thorne said. "The Soldiers were very happy with the results, saying communications were much improved."
Thorne said it was a challenge to get higher bandwidth capability to allow direct connection to the JNN, but Tobyhanna and the LRC managed to produce a satellite communications terminal with faster and more reliable data transmission that increases warfighter readiness and capability to fight the nation's wars.
"When this is fielded, we agree with the LRC that Soldiers will have a satellite communications terminal that is more capable than any other tactical terminal," Nicholoff said.
COUNTER-IED SYSTEM UPGRADED
Tobyhanna technicians answered the challenge posed by the Product Director-Electronic Attack requesting a software upgrade and new testing for AN/ULQ-35 Counter-Improvised Device Electronic Warfare Duke systems. The upgrade and testing work was in addition to reset, a program to restore systems that have been in the field to peak operating condition, already being done for systems mounted on Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles.
Previously, technicians were resetting more than 50 Duke systems per month. The increase in workload was almost tenfold.
The upgrade significantly improved readiness for Soldiers to counter IEDs in combat zones across Southwest Asia, said Kris Tompkins, chief of the Electronic Warfare Branch.
Duke is a programmable smart jammer. It scans for frequencies that can be used to detonate IEDs and jams them, while ignoring friendly frequencies. The system has four components: a primary unit
programmed to scan for certain frequencies; a secondary unit that expands the range of frequencies
it can scan; an antenna; and a remote control component.
"The secondary unit was added because the bad guys started using more frequencies," said Tompkins. "So this workload became a reset and upgrade mission. We had to upgrade the software as well as install new batteries onto the circuit cards -- which sounds simple, but involves much more than a swap out -- replace broken parts and test each system."
Technicians also had to environmentally test each system to ensure they work in a temperature
range of minus 30 to 160 F and can withstand the jolts and vibrations associated with being driven in rough terrain.
As the workload increased rapidly, critical circuit card supply dwindled. Tobyhanna adapted
immediately, setting up a circuit card repair line to meet the need for the necessary cards.
"We increased our on-board strength in a couple of months to 93 people from 46," said Mike
Verrastro, chief of the Electronic Warfare Section. "Technicians implemented a number of Lean
initiatives that streamlined the workflow, allowing us to complete the mission on time and under cost."
The Duke system is the Army's most widely used counter-IED system and protects every Soldier
who gets in a vehicle, Tompkins said. "Soldiers have to be ready to quickly go anywhere in the world," he noted, "and we are very proud of our employees for meeting a difficult deadline while increasing our warfighter readiness."
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