Tactical use of data link and its application in the National Navy

Abstract

Communications between military units in the theater of operations a little more than half a century ago were restricted to voice transmission by radio. Although voice transmission continues to be used, in the advancement of the technological era, a system was required to ensure the transmission of data and to make an efficient use of the radio frequency spectrum where the security of this is guaranteed. From this need was born the Tactical Data Link (TDL) systems, this system has the facility to share information of the operational landscape almost in real time without saturating communications, currently used by members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in its different versions. The Armada de Colombia, due to the need to improve its capabilities, developed the LINK-CO system, in order to establish a secure and fast communication network between different units of a force (ships, submarines, helicopters, airplanes, land centers, etc.), with the objective of maintaining a common tactical overview, strengthening the conduct of naval operations to fulfill the institutional mission.