Tactical Data Link Market Growth: Why Link 16 makes the Cut

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Global Tactical Data Link Market Why Link 16
makes the Cut
Today, military operations increasingly depend on
the seamless working of networked sensors and
shooters. This has raised the need for sharing
critical information in real time. In this
regard, tactical data links (TDLs) disseminate
information processed from electronic warfare,
SONAR, RADAR, Identification Friend or Foe (IFF),
etc. Command, control, and communications (C3)
rely on TDLs to securely share mission-critical
information among ground, sea, and air platforms.
As per Inkwood Research, the global tactical data
link market is expected to record a CAGR of 6.08
during the forecast period, 2023-2032.

• Link 16 weighs Heavy on TDL Arsenal
• Each tactical data link (TDL) uses a data link
  standard to enable communication via data cables
  or radio waves. Link 16 is the designation of a
  tactical data link (TDL) integrated into
  operations of the North Atlantic Treaty
  Organization (NATO) forces, Joint Services, and
  other allies. It deploys the multifunctional
  information distribution system (MIDS) data link
  terminals. It is a high-capacity, jam- resistant,
  and frequency-hopping data link.
• Link 16 is considered a key component in the US
  Department of Defense's (DoD's) approach to
  networked warfare. Prior to Link 16, several
  platforms used their own proprietary data links.
  However, one of Link 16's end goals was to
  provide a common data link that every service
  could use.
• However, Link 16 does not substantially change
  the basic concepts of tactical data link
  information exchange supported for many years by
  Link 11B, Link 11, and Link 4A. Instead, it
  improves the tactical deployment of all equipped
  platforms and provides specific operational and
  technical enhancements to existing tactical data
  links.
• These include
• Better Security

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• Increased Data Rate
• Relative Navigation
• Jam Resistance
• Digitized, Secure, and Jam-Resistant Voice
  Capability
• Nodelessness
• More Granularity and Volume of Information
  Exchange
• Precise Participant Location and Identification
  (PPLI)
• In essence, Link 16 enables military ground
  forces, ships, and aircraft to exchange their
  tactical picture in near-real time. Its effects
  on air defense operations were revolutionary. For
  instance, before Link 16, the typical command
  control (C2) for air defense comprised a command
  center coursing in aircraft to coordinates
  provided by ground-based radar. With Link 16, the
  incoming threat information was distributed
  across communication networks to the units
  capable of countering it. While sensor and radar
  tracks could be shared among aircraft within that
  unit.
• Explains Pete Camana, Viasat's business
  development director of Tactical Data Links, "You
  get a common operational picture that everyone
  sees, and that makes a real difference."
• Camana further describes how Link 16 changed the
  face of air and ground coordination for close air
  support. Conventionally ground controllers used
  voice to guide attack aircraft. The pilot had to
  read back the sequence of commands the ground
  controller gave to verify congruency. Link 16
  changed this since it facilitates sharing
  information directly from the user device to the
  aircraft's computer.
• For instance, in an NCO Case Study Air-to-Air
  Combat With and Without Link 16 (Courtesy RAND
  Corporation), Link 16-equipped fighters witnessed
  around a two-and-a-half times improvement in the
  kill ratio during daylight and night time
  conditions. The ratio encompassed red aircraft to
  blue aircraft shot down.
• Our analysis of the global tactical data link
  market by data link type includes Link 16, Link
  22, and Link 11.
• Call for More Expansions, Extensions, and
  Integrations in Link 16
• With Link 16 on more tactical platforms, the
  services are working toward expanding its
  capabilities to improve situational awareness,
  enhance warfighter safety, adapt to new
  technologies, and adjust to new mission needs.
  All these while limiting the potential for errors
  and the need for data translation. This calls for
  an evolved network design with built-in
  Information Exchange Requirements (IERs) to aid
  warfighters.
• Similarly, the US military is inclined to extend
  Link 16 capacities to maintain the tactical
  advantage. One such solution is Concurrent
  Multiple Reception (CMR), wherein a radio can
  decrypt and demodulate multiple messages from
  multiple users simultaneously.
• As the vice president and business area director
  for Viasat's Next Generation Tactical Data Links
  (NGTDL) systems, Andy Kessler, puts it, "Imagine
  that instead of a single FM or satellite radio
  station, your car radio could pick up three or
  four stations simultaneously."
• For instance, Concurrent Multiple Reception (CMR)
  facilitates more secure, frequent updates on the
  location of the surrounding forces (both friendly
  and hostile) with positional data. The data
  obtained from multiple simultaneous messages are
  then fused into a common picture.

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• Kessler adds, "This picture that you are seeing
  on your tactical situational awareness display is
  more robust. The tracks are getting updated more
  frequently due to reduced latency so the
  locations are more precise."
• Moreover, multi-message capability enables
  Concurrent Multiple Reception (CMR) devices to
  share data between particular users while
  receiving information from the broader network in
  a single timeslot. This is estimated to raise the
  total network efficiency and capacity because
  multiple networks can function in the same
  theater of operation.
• Our assessment of the global data link market by
  application includes electronic warfare, command
• control, intelligence, surveillance, and
  reconnaissance (ISR), radio communication, and
  situational awareness.
• Successful Leverages by Market Players
• On 10th April 2019, Viasat announced the
  implementation of Concurrent Multiple Reception
  (CMR) features in the latest version of the
  KOR-24A Small Tactical Terminal (STT).
• On 23rd April 2019, Viasat announced the
  surpassing of a milestone of shipping 1,000
  AN/PRC-161 Battlefield Awareness Targeting System
  Dismounted (BATS-D) handheld Link 16 radios.
• On 8th February 2022, HENSOLDT announced the
  development of an independent next- generation
  tactical data link with extended Link 16
  functionalities (secured data voice
  communication) under a European project called
  'ESSOR MIDS.'
• Future Warfare Toward Electronic, Interoperable,
  and Near-Instant Operations
• The air-to-ground operations are being viewed in
  a new light with technological innovations in the
  next generation of Link 16 terminals. The new
  capabilities of the next-generation Link 16
  terminals and the extension of Link 16 in new
  domains facilitate its availability for
  integration into new nodes and platform types.
  Link 16's malleability to meet the changing
  operational battlefield needs has maintained its
  viability over the last 40 years. (Source)
• However, the widespread deployment of Link 16
  requires efficient functioning of software tools,
  Information Exchange Requirements (IERs), support
  equipment, comprehensive training, and the
  Concept of Operations (CONOPs). Therefore, the
  global tactical data link market addresses the
  worldwide quest for precise real-time
  information amid the evolving modern warfare
  techniques.
• FAQs
• Which are the key players in the global tactical
  data link market?
• A Raytheon, L3Harris Technologies Inc, Collins
  Aerospace, Viasat, etc., are among the key
  players in the global tactical data link market.
• Which is the dominating region in the global
  tactical data link market?
• A North America is the dominating region in the
  global tactical data link market.