A simulation of the Joint Tactical Radio System bandwidth requirements to support Marine Corps Ship-to Objective Maneuver in 2015

Abstract

The United States Marine Corps is exploring the concepts of Operational Maneuver From the Sea (OMFTS) and Ship-To-Objective Maneuver (STOM) as methods for employment of maritime forces in the future. At the same time, the Department of Defense (DoD) is pursuing the acquisition of the Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS), a multi-band, multi-channel, multi-mode family of radios, designed to form self-organizing, self-healing communications networks. The JTRS will have to support Marine forces in combat at long distances from the forces' support and higher headquarters units. This extended range will require the use of relay radios in order to maintain connectivity between the attacking force and its support. This thesis explores the relay station bandwidth requirements to support Marine forces. The question is analyzed through the use of a discrete-event simulation written in Java, which models the behavior of a JTRS network in a STOM scenario. Quality of service of the communication network is measured by timely delivery of messages. The results of the simulation indicate that the JTRS network performance is insensitive to relay station bandwidth. Rather, the subordinate headquarters involved in the scenario were the most overloaded nodes in the network