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Risk Reduction Event Makes Significant Strides in Partner Force Interoperability

By Sgt. Maj. Vincent LabadorApril 12, 2024

COL Constancio M. Espina II, The Philippine Army G6, makes opening remarks at the start of the Risk Reduction Event held in Taguig City, Philippines.
1 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – COL Constancio M. Espina II, The Philippine Army G6, makes opening remarks at the start of the Risk Reduction Event held in Taguig City, Philippines. (Photo Credit: MSG Nelson Garcia) VIEW ORIGINAL
MSG Nelson Garcia, the USARPAC G6 Spectrum Manager, conducts spectrum analysis of the various waveforms tested during the RRE alongside Philippine service members.
2 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – MSG Nelson Garcia, the USARPAC G6 Spectrum Manager, conducts spectrum analysis of the various waveforms tested during the RRE alongside Philippine service members. (Photo Credit: SPC Jimmy Spray) VIEW ORIGINAL
U.S. and Philippine service members conduct a high- frequency encrypted data shot from Cardona Rizal, Philippines, to the 25th Infantry Division Headquarters in Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.
3 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – U.S. and Philippine service members conduct a high- frequency encrypted data shot from Cardona Rizal, Philippines, to the 25th Infantry Division Headquarters in Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. (Photo Credit: SSG James Bendele) VIEW ORIGINAL

TAGUIG CITY, Philippines - Members of the U.S Armed Forces, including U.S. Army Pacific Command (USAPAC), 25th Infantry Division, 1st Multi Domain Task Force, 1st Special Forces Group, and the 2nd Marine Radio Battalion joined the Philippine Army Signal Regiment and the Joint Special Operations Group collaborate on ways to enhance interoperability across existing communications platforms. As the U.S. Army spearheads efforts to modernize communications capabilities by introducing and enhancing Integrated Tactical Networks (ITN), creatively redesigning existing systems is necessary to ensure seamless interoperability.

This year’s Risk Reduction Event (RRE), orchestrated by USARPAC’s Senior Operations Planner, Scott Senerius, centered on maximizing the Philippine Army’s current capabilities. Through the event,  minimal firmware upgrades were installed on existing radio platforms,  enabling cross-band voice, data, and position location functionalities. This development marked a notable increase in agility, a  first in the exercise’s three-year history, and ultimately enhanced the Philippines Army’s operational efficiency and effectiveness in communicating

“The time we set aside for the RRE is crucial for our international partners because it’s one of the only occasions that we are all able to synchronize capabilities in one location,” said Senerius “Our partners often face challenges due to limited time, training resources, and budget constraints, making it difficult to field new radio platforms. The RRE allows them to make the platforms they already have meet mission needs.”

Since both countries possess L3Harris radio variants, experienced communicators were able to revisit legacy programs and introduce new methods of operating existing HF, VHF, and UHF-capable radios that permit the transfer of encrypted voice and data traffic to establish redundancy over an array of shared capabilities. The experimentation focused on gaining consistent interoperability without requiring additional hardware to match U.S. capability.

Increasing interoperability in this capacity required some operators to return to methods they might’ve otherwise moved away from. The teams experimented with messaging platforms such as Wireless Messaging Terminal (WMT) and Tactical Chat IP to validate a reliable means of transmitting data files within a local area network and further extend that data beyond the line of sight. The Philippine partners introduced their methods of sharing positional data and adopted the best methods that satisfied specific mission requirements. L3Harris’ added features, such as Position Location Information (PLI), 3rd Generation IP (3GIP), Web Manned Machine Interface (Web MMI), and Last-Ditch Data (LDD), are interchangeable with the Philippine-equipped 7800 series international radios and complement many capabilities of the American radios in the current ITN Inventory.

Lessons learned from the ongoing conflict in Ukraine revealed the broad vulnerability of standard line-of-sight radio frequencies and their susceptibility to jamming and detection. In the Philippines, the team tested an interoperable fast-hopping waveform called Anti-jam Resilient Radio Objective Waveform (ARROW) that provides a more hardened solution and can be easily installed on US and international radios without costly modification. Throughout testing, the ARROW waveform demonstrated reliability in voice and data transmission and that it can be an additional means of enhancing redundancy as partner nations improve their capacity to communicate across the battlespace.

“We appreciated the opportunity to share experiences with our U.S. partners,” said Master Sgt. Gerald Tolentino, Philippine Airforce Combat Net Radio Flight. “Over the last two weeks, we learned about new waveforms and practiced networking and communicating to US radios from our own 7800 radios.

The team’s achievements during the RRE extend beyond the Philippine partners. L3Harris reports that 97 other countries already have 7800 series international radios. Through collaborative efforts like the RRE, the United States stands to enhance communications interoperability with each of its international partners.