Range estimation of tactical radio waveforms using Link Budget Analysis

Multiband tactical communication modems must employ different waveforms to meet various demands in quality and nature of data. Range maximization, high data throughput and power conservation requirements are usually not fulfilled by a single waveform. To effectively deliver tactical multimedia data including coded audio, text, video, map and navigation information using radio, multiple choice of frequency bands exist. These include: HF, VHF and UHF. However, along with the effective delivery of quality data, the maximization of transmission range under hostile propagation environments - especially under terrain blockage in ground-to-ground (GTG) communication scenario - is of utmost importance. This paper discusses the results of link budget analysis performed for the estimation of maximum delivery range using variety of data rates for three typically different waveforms - high frequency waveform (HFW), very high frequency waveform (VHFW) and OFDM based wideband network waveform (WNW). Center frequencies of 27 MHz, 60 MHz, and 500 MHz respectively were used for the simulations. Results show that HFW produces the longest range, followed by VHFW and the WNW - which delivered the highest data rate.