NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND, PATUXENT RIVER, Md. — The Naval Aviation Center for Rotorcraft Advancement (NACRA) recently collaborated with the Marine Corps Systems Command (MARCORSYSCOM) to successfully test a new mobile communications system here.

Christine Liou and Tom Staley from Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) Pacific created the Network on the Move (NOTM) command and control system for both ground and air tactical vehicles. Liou and Staley conducted the ground-based testing inside a mine-resistant ambush protected (MRAP) vehicle at Naval Air Station Patuxent River.

 Basil Moncrief, manager of the Extensible Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF), said the testing had three objectives:

• Validate and demonstrate the ability to integrate a NOTM staff vehicle kit into a UH-1 using off-the-shelf components such as standard tactical radios
• Conduct late developmental testing of a new 50-W amp for the radios
• Validate automated “healing” of a broken digital communications network between ground vehicles via airborne node

The NOTM system provides extended capability for command and control networking and data transfer applications in non-line-of-sight situations. The equipment is part of a staff vehicle kit, which is loaded onto aircraft and ground vehicle platforms and integrated into a flight certified rack.

“If we lose connectivity between two ground vehicles, we can use a helicopter as a relay to heal a broken network on the ground,” Moncrief said.

Marine pilot Capt. Alexis Harvey and communications officer Maj. Keith Kovats conducted the test operations in-flight on the UH-1N "T-Rex" helicopter, communicating via laptop with Liou and Staley to prove connectivity capabilities. Team members from NACRA, MARCORSYSCOM and SPAWAR met all three objectives during the two-day testing period and tested distance limitations.

Created in 2008, NACRA is responsible for short-term rapid response testing that relies on cross-competency collaboration rather than a program to advance rotorcraft design. The group supports advanced concepts such as NOTM and develops innovative logistical analysis that reduces cost and risk for helicopter programs.