Rohde & Schwarz announced that the joint radio system of the German Armed Forces (SVFuA) received the prestigious 2017 Technology of the Year award from the Wireless Innovation Forum.
The Technology of the Year award is presented to an individual or organization selected by the members for a breakthrough product or technology in the field of software defined or cognitive radio.
The objective of the SVFuA project was to develop a software defined radio (SDR) system for the German Federal Armed Forces for joint and combined operations. It was successfully completed in June 2016. In June 2017, following many years of joint development, the Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) signed a contract with Rohde & Schwarz for the procurement of the SVFuA. The SVFuA gives the German Armed Forces all the tools needed to create and especially protect information superiority. It also ensures interfaces with allies during joint missions and for collective defense.
Bosco Novak, Executive Vice President Secure Communications Division at Rohde & Schwarz, said, “We are honored to receive this recognition of our pioneering achievement from the Wireless Innovation Forum, an organization of experts dedicated to technology innovation in communications around the world. We are proud to support the German Armed Forces with the SVFuA system for secure and interoperable, state-of-the-art tactical communications."
Both the radio platform and the waveforms are certified as compliant with the WINNF endorsed standard Software Communications Architecture (SCA) version 2.2.2. The certificates of SCA compliance were issued by the German Federal Armed Forces Technical Center for Information Technology and Electronics (WTD 81). The WTD 81 is the first European test lab to issue a certificate of SCA compliance, and SVFuA is the first European SDR to achieve SCA certification. SVFuA is also the first European SCA based SDR system to successfully port third-party waveforms. It is also the first radio system worldwide to port waveforms while protecting the intellectual property rights of both the platform and the waveform suppliers.
As the lead industry partner in the SVFuA project, Rohde & Schwarz facilitates this approach with its waveform development environment. The German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) stated that the system is certifiable up to the national classification level SECRET (GEHEIM). This is an essential precondition for certification up to the NATO classification level NATO SECRET. As a three-channel radio system, SVFuA supports multiple independent levels of security (MILS). Overall, SVFuA supports the WInnForum objective of enabling coalition interoperability.
The Rohde & Schwarz technology group develops, produces and markets innovative information and communications technology products for professional users. Rohde & Schwarz focuses on test and measurement, broadcast and media, cybersecurity, secure communications and monitoring and network testing, areas that address many different industry and government-sector market segments. Founded more than 80 years ago, the independent company has an extensive sales and service network in more than 70 countries.
Established in 1996, The Wireless Innovation Forum (SDR Forum Version 2.0) is a non-profit mutual benefit corporation dedicated to advocating for spectrum innovation, and advancing radio technologies that support essential or critical communications worldwide. Members bring a broad base of experience in Software Defined Radio (SDR), Cognitive Radio(CR) and Dynamic Spectrum Access (DSA) technologies in diverse markets and at all levels of the wireless value chain to address emerging wireless communications requirements.
