Blog

C2 comms in one platform: improving interoperability while lowering lifecycle costs

September 22, 2022

Today’s C2 communications are more complex and expensive than they need to be. All branches of the U.S. Military — and many coalition partners — are seeking next-gen technology to improve resiliency and mobility while simultaneously reducing costs and training time. REDCOM has always emphasized interoperability, ease of use, and flexibility. We built Sigma from the ground up based on these core tenets and to meet requirements for tactical users.

The REDCOM Sigma ecosystem

REDCOM Sigma takes formerly disparate hardware and software components and combines them into a lightweight, unified software instance. This provides tactical users with just one platform to buy, configure, deploy, and train on, greatly reducing complexity while boosting operational flexibility. The key benefits of REDCOM Sigma are:

  • Voice, video, chat, console, and radio interop in a single software instance
  • Military-grade software built for the tactical edge
  • One platform for controlling all IP and RF comms
  • Interoperable, standards-based, and fully scalable
  • Intuitive user interface is incredibly easy to use

REDCOM Sigma does all of this in an incredibly easy-to-use platform. New users can get up to speed on Sigma in hours or days — not weeks, thus vastly improving the operational tempo and paving the way to future concepts such as JADC2, CMOSS, and ACE. Sigma is already successfully deployed within the United States Army and Air Force.

C2 Console: Single pane of glass for all comms

In early 2022 REDCOM released major enhancements to the Sigma platform. The first of these is TSM talk group support, which allows Sigma to integrate seamlessly with TSM mesh networks. The second major feature is an integrated C2 Console, which gives warfighters a single pane of glass for monitoring and controlling all comms on the tactical network. The REDCOM C2 Console provides the following key benefits:

  • Unified interface for controlling all IP and RF comms, including TSM talk groups
  • Instantly patch together disparate endpoints
  • Operators can communicate (listen/talk) to any connection
  • Optimized UX built for warfighters at the tactical edge
  • Drastically reduces cost, infrastructure, & complexity

REDCOM Sigma: Deployable anywhere

REDCOM Sigma software is completely platform agnostic. It not only powers REDCOM’s purpose-built platforms, but it can also run on any third-party compute platform. Deployment scenarios include:

  • REDCOM Sigma XRI: A lightweight, low SWaP box with 4 analog audio interfaces for donor radios and can bridge multiple radio nets.
  • REDCOM Sigma XRI-M4K: A module designed specifically for the Klas Voyager system.
  • 3rd party compute platforms: Sigma can run bare metal or virtualized on standard servers with 64-bit Intel® & AMD processors.
  • CMOSS/SOSA: Demoed on various SOSA-aligned platforms from Curtiss-Wright and Spectranetix

Conclusion

Current deployed comms solutions suffer from numerous issues: they’re often hard to procure, take forever to set up, and force users to endure unreasonably long training sessions just to get up to speed. And even when fully deployed, recurring interoperability and usability issues are a constant threat to the mission. Sigma mitigates these issues by stripping out the complexity and combining all necessary C2 functions in one software instance that’s easy to procure, license, train, and deploy.

Command and Control is one of REDCOM’s core tenets. REDCOM built Sigma from the ground up as a flexible, easy to use, all-in-one Command and Control platform that forms the foundation for seamless communications in both current and future operating concepts. REDCOM has already tested Sigma in lab environments such as the Open Innovation Lab (OIL) and TSOA-ID and Sigma is proven in the field by the US Army and USAF.