Naval communication bubbles
TILBA® boosts the stealth and capability of naval communications
TILBA® boosts the stealth and capability of naval communications by making laser communications more reliable
The connectivity of naval forces is a critical issue for national sovereignty. Information warfare means that data is becoming increasingly important, both in times of conflict and in times of peace. As with civilian use, telecommunication tools are at the core of this information war. Intelligence, interoperability, collaborative combat, tactical cloud computing and connecting sailors with their families are all elements that ensure superior information, decision-making and operational processes, as well as the well-being of the personnel involved.
In order to ensure high-throughput, low-latency, resilient and scalable communications networks, it is necessary to rely on several complementary techniques. Radio-frequency and acoustic technologies are historically well developed in the navy. They allow relatively robust submarine, ship-to-ship and even satellite communication. Unfortunately, acoustic waves have a very low throughput and high latency. Moreover, radio frequencies are reaching their capacity limits for new uses, such as the cloud, and are also vulnerable to attacks by jamming or interception.
Laser communication, or free space optical communication, allows information to be transmitted at the speed of light with extremely high throughput directly into the air. Unlike radio frequencies, laser communications are difficult to detect or intercept and are not sensitive to electromagnetic interference. Optical technologies are therefore perfectly positioned to complement existing approaches to ensure very high-throughput ship-to-shore, ship-to-ship or ship-to-air communication.
Unfortunately, laser communication is severely limited by atmospheric turbulence. This turbulence affects the phase and intensity of the light beam due to the inhomogeneity and constant movement of the air. To be competitive, both in terms of cost and performance, it is necessary to use standard telecommunications components that are only compatible with single-mode fiber (SMF). However, when the wavefront is perturbated, light couples less efficiently into the single-mode fibers, causing losses that further degrade the signal quality.
With our TILBA® product line, we offer:
- Improved link robustness by compensating for atmospheric turbulence at reception using standard, off-the-shelf on-board components.
- Increased transmission range of links, by coherently combining several laser sources.
- Compatibility with standard telecommunication architectures.
For more information:
- Looking for a plug-and-play solution for atmospheric turbulence mitigation? Watch our video to discover how TILBA®-ATMO works
- How does atmospheric turbulence impact Laser Communication? Read our blog article
- How to improve laser communication through atmospheric turbulence ? Watch our webinar replay
- Alternative passive fiber coupling system based on MPLC for satellite-to-ground communications. Watch our webinar replay co-presented with the DLR
- Multiple beam laser combination based on the MPLC technique in the defense field. Watch our webinar replay co-presented with the ONERA
