In conflicts around the world, push-to-talk and land mobile radios see continued usage as a low-cost, difficult-to-trace alternative to cellular communications. Monitoring tens, hundreds or even thousands of VHF/UHF channels is often deemed as too much effort and too costly. However, overlooked intelligence on communications signals in the VHF/UHF frequency range has been cited as a critical vulnerability leading to significant losses in ongoing conflicts.
In South Asia especially, we are seeing an increase in handheld radio usage by smugglers, pirates, drug dealers, rebels and other bad actors. Therefore, whether for territorial defence forces, coast guards, border control, or signals intelligence authorities, systems are needed for detecting and locating malicious and adversarial users of handheld radios. Received signals may be used for tracking and intercepting criminal activities, or for inferring the size, power, intentions and capabilities of an opposing military force.
Organisations deploying communications intelligence (COMINT) systems or Communications Electronic Support Measures (C-ESM) require assets that can be quickly deployed, are straightforward to operate, effectively capture all signals of interest, and accurately calculate the line of bearing towards emitters.
HUGIN 304DF is Novator Solutions’ mobile, tactical C-ESM / COMINT system for signal interception and direction finding. It is capable of simultaneously monitoring, listening to, and recording signals across 64 channels, for analogue clear-voice push-to-talk (PTT) communications using FM, AM or SSB modulation. HUGIN 304DF automatically calculates the line of bearing (LOB) of each received signal, plotting LOBs on a polar display and on a map. This allows operators to geolocate signals from a moving vehicle or vessel, by plotting multiple LOBs from a single emitter and triangulating its position from those.
HUGIN 304DF is optimised for rapid vehicle-based deployment, making it well suited to on-the-move and covert operation or unconventional warfare. For example, the main processing unit is small enough to be placed in the boot of most vehicles, while temporary mountable antennas are fitted to the roof. The system is DC-powered from the vehicle’s 12-volt supply, making it straightforward to run from any car or moving surveillance asset.
A challenge organisations face with introducing new EW or signals intelligence (SIGINT) systems is the time it takes operators to ramp up to using those systems – often requiring lengthy training to get up to a base level of ability with the software. For this reason, we focused on providing an intuitive command and control (C2) software interface, providing operators with the situational awareness they need to make rapid decisions, without needing a long programme of training to get to that point. Operators manage the spectrum from a rugged laptop, which is usable in or near the vehicle. They can configure digital drop receivers (DDRs) to frequencies of interest, listening to recorded voice channels in near real time.
Novator Solutions is committed to providing our customers with an advantage in today’s electromagnetic environment, by providing cutting-edge systems for EW and SIGINT. For more information, please visit novatorsolutions.com.
