Simon Davies established Spectra Group in 2002 following a 24-year career as a communications specialist with the British Army.
Spectra has a proven operational record of delivering communications solutions for governments around the globe; elite militaries; and private enterprises of all sizes. As a dynamic, agile, security accredited organisation, Spectra can leverage this experience to deliver Cyber Advisory and secure Hosted and Managed Solutions on time, to spec and on budget, ensuring compliance with industry standards and best practices. Spectra’s gold-level partnerships with third-party vendors ensures best value and leading-edge technology.
Simon Davies was awarded 2017 Businessman of the Year by Battlespace magazine and Spectra was awarded the prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise (Innovation) in 2019 for their product SlingShot.
Questions from Asian Military Review for CEO of Spectra Group – Simon Davies
- How long have you been the CEO at Spectra Group and what has been your primary focus since establishing the company?
I established Spectra Group back in 2002 having served in the British Army for 24 years. Spectra Group is a specialist provider of secure voice, data and satellite communications systems and is a veteran-led organisation that prides itself on designing and manufacturing specialist high-quality communications equipment and systems that have been operationally proven to meet the needs of the modern warfighter, in the most demanding operational conditions. My primary focus throughout its existence has been to ensure that all Spectra Group products are designed with the soldier in mind, and therefore, are built to be small, light, easy to use, secure and have a low probability of intercept or detection.
- What are some of Spectra Group’s current key programs, projects and priorities?
Our cornerstone product for many years has been SlingShotTM which was conceived and designed to meet Special Forces requirements and now has over 10,000 units sold in operational use with both specialist and regular forces globally. SlingShot is a unique, low-size, weight and power (SWaP) system that enables existing UHF and VHF tactical radios to extend their reach into the realm of strategic communications, providing true Beyond Line of Sight (BLOS) and Communications on the Move (COTM), without purchasing new radios. It has been a phenomenal success and operationally proven with elite forces all over the world. We are currently exploring new opportunities for SlingShot in the Asia region where its unique capabilities are a perfect solution for the geographical challenges they face.
Since 2019 we have been the UK and NATO distributor, and now global distributor, of the Comtech Troposcatter Family of Systems (FoS) – less the US, Canada and Mexico which Comtech retains. The Troposcatter Family of Systems is designed to provide high-bandwidth battlefield data links between key headquarters down to Company level in a modular and easy-to-transport system. With low latency and high bandwidth, the systems are simple, intuitive and easy to set up. Also, due to its architecture, Troposcatter works in a GPS/GNSS denied environment, so can operate at the poles, and is equally difficult to detect or intercept. We are in the last stages of developing Troposcatter on the Move which further enhances the value and capability of this excellent system.
- How does Spectra Group differentiate itself in the market to satisfy customer demands?
As a veteran-led organisation we pride ourselves on identifying the capability gap that front-line forces are facing and then designing and manufacturing a robust and easy to use solution that meets the needs of the modern soldier on the battlefield in the most austere and inhospitable of environments. Our products are also by design equally applicable to other types of security forces, state agencies or disaster relief organisations.
- Looking at the current industry landscape, what are the most significant trends impacting your business?
Modern-day conflict against a determined and advanced adversary is having many effects on communications equipment, its bearers but also the operators who use it. Spectra are conscious of the need to keep radio systems and their user-interface as simple as possible for the operator whilst, when needed, being able to work in contested spectrum environments. Our products have also been designed to operate with minimum power and noise where possible to maximise their communication capability while minimising the ability for an adversary to detect or incept the signal.
- What excites you most about the upcoming opportunities for Spectra Group?
In January 2024, we launched our new radio concept “GENSS”. My vision has always been to craft the ultimate radio system — user-friendly, light, modular and supremely flexible to adapt to the evolving demands of military operations and technological advances and GENSS is proving to deliver exactly that and represents the pinnacle of our development efforts, transforming complex communication needs into simple, effective solutions.
Throughout last year we have been designing, building and testing the various concepts and ideas we had conceived and I am currently thrilled by the results. GENSS builds on the foundations of our award-winning SlingShot system, embodying Spectra Group’s vision of producing ultimate radio systems that capitalise on technological advances, adapt to the evolving demands of military operations and simplify the user experience. It has been designed and developed through a collaborative effort of tactical communication experts, seasoned military specialists and top-tier U.K. scientists and engineers. GENSS is a significant advancement in the field of tactical radio communications, due to its modular core framework and software-defined flexibility, heralding a new era in communication technology. It is a modular, agnostic hardware radio system designed to be agile and provide the ultimate interoperability through straightforward software reprogramming to adapt quickly and easily to meet the diverse needs of its users. Capable of operating across HF, VHF, UHF, and satellite bands, GENSS is engineered to conquer Beyond Line-of-Sight (BLOS) barriers and support Communications on the Move (COTM), delivering a robust and agile solution for voice and high-bandwidth data transmission across all domains — land, sea, and air.
The GENSS radio platform is delivered with an Open API architecture which can be adapted to use AI applications as required. Whilst Spectra Group does not create AI software applications directly, the GENSS platform can be utilised to allow soldier-based software and AI solutions can be easily adopted to maximise capabilities and features available utilising GENSS.
Below is a video from Spectra group at Eurosatory 2024 talking about their new product GENSS:
