Secure voice transmission in the coalitional communication

摘要

One of the most important aspects in contemporary alliance and coalition communication is to ensure an adequate levelof security for data and voice transmission. Continuous technological development is a factor that significantly hindersthe development of the coalition standard aimed at protecting real-time data transmission (audio and video) in a reliableand safe way. For a long period of time, the coalition nations encountered problems connected with establishing a correcttransmission between national systems. In order to achieve interoperability of communication systems, the United Statesgovernment has made available and presented the standard FNBDT (Future Narrowband Digital Terminal) which in thecourse of time took the name SCIP (Secure Communication Interoperability Protocol). This protocol is being developedto this day by working groups consisting of representatives of scientific institutions and companies from the armedindustry of NATO countries. Thanks to international cooperation the Protocol was adopted as standard STANAG 5068.It allows the use of cryptographic mechanisms to block the transmission of voice and data in a standardized way,ensuring interoperability of existing and newly formed allied and coalition communication systems for voicetransmission. The SCIP protocol is based on two speech codecs: MELPe and G.729D. The article will discuss the currentwork carried out in NATO working groups on the definition of the COMSEC function and the way it is implemented inbroadband radio stations to develop a broadband waveform for coalition activities. Also, the national waveform to securecommunication in the broadband radio station will be presented. In the next chapter there will be the presentation ofselected experimental results of broadband radio R-450C with the above-mentioned implemented mechanisms to protectvoice communication. The obtained results will allow to evaluate the implemented mechanisms in terms of security. Thedeveloped analysis and obtained measurement results may be helpful both for people organizing radio communicationusing broadband radios as well as for those responsible for the proper operation of electronic warfare systems.