Operational perspective on the tactical use of meteor burst communications

A meteor burst communications network consisting of two master stations and several remote stations was tested during a recent NATO exercise. The author describes the results of these tests. The testing identified interface definition, formatted message processing, multifrequency usage, antenna design, encryption, and the man-machine interface as potential areas for improvement in meteor burst communications technology. In addition, master-station-to-master-station and master-station-to-remote data rate measurements were made in the theater during this exercise, revealing the existence of unusually long-duration meteor trails which were available during this exercise.<>