An analysis of Mobile Ad-Hoc Network performance to recommend a basis of issue for the U.S. Army Nett Warrior System

Abstract

The U.S. Army Nett Warrior System is a type of Mobile Ad-Hoc Network (MANET) designed to enhance situational awareness and communications within a U.S. Army Brigade Combat Team. It depends on reliable wireless communication provided by Enhanced Position Location Reporting System (EPLRS) Radio Sets. This study investigates the appropriate basis of issue for the fielding of these systems by examining how varying the number of fielded radios affects the system's ability to support Army communications requirements. In this thesis, we model network operations in three ways to evaluate the effects of varying the number of radios. The first model provides an idealized representation of network performance by calculating total throughput in the best case. The second model estimates the percentage of potential links that can be established simultaneously using a greedy heuristic and in a manner consistent with EPLRS design. The final model examines the ability of the network to support the distribution of situational awareness information using discrete event simulation to evaluate the percentage of successful transmissions for networks of varying radio densities. We exercise these models under various deployment scenarios and make recommendations regarding the fielding of these systems.