Story ID: 
Rohde&Schwarz makes the skies safe
By: Lauren Delnegro
Caption: The full range of aviation competence from Rohde&Schwarz features fully integrated, high performance and scalable trusted solutions 
Word Count: 1128
The full range of airborne communications competence from Rohde&Schwarz features fully integrated, high performance and scalable trusted solutions for air-air, air-ground, and ground-ground communications and airport safety systems. This includes software defined airborne radios (SDAR), air traffic control (ATC) communications, counter drone solutions, test & measurement and solutions for monitoring radio networks.
You can completely rely on airborne communications competence from Rohde&Schwarz. The technical experts at the independent company ensure your peace of mind by everything from a single source.s 
 Complete communications solution even under the toughest condition
Rohde&Schwarz SDARs of the SOVERON® airborne software defined radio (SDR) family are a game changer for any air force. The radio’s excellent capabilities and RF characteristics make it suitable for applications in military environments, including all types of airborne platforms. The radios ensure ease of integration thanks to their small form factor, low weight and standardized housing, alongside air-air, air-ground, and ground-air communications.
More than 9,000 radios from the SOVERON® airborne radio family are in use worldwide on over 70 different platforms worldwide. Examples include transport aircraft, like the A400M and C-390; training aircraft, like the T-7A and the T-6TH; light attack aircraft, like the A-29 Super Tucano; fighter aircraft, like the Eurofighter Typhoon, F-15 and Gripen; and helicopters like the NH90.
The SOVERON® airborne radio family includes the R&S®AR5000 airborne radio and the R&S®M3AR multiband, multimode, multirole radio family. All radios are the product of decades of experience, especially in the design and development of airborne radio equipment and SDR technology. The R&S®M3AR family consists of the R&S®MR6000A, in an ARINC 600 housing, and the R&S®MR6000R/ R&S®MR6000L, both of which are ARC-164 form and fit compatible. Rohde&Schwarz, as the only provider of military SDARs that also meet the civil aviation certification requirements of the EASA, provides airborne transceivers that use state-of-the-art communications methods, standardized throughout NATO, including frequency-hopping techniques and NATO cryptology. These unique transceivers from the SOVERON® airborne software defined radio family have been SECAN and BSI certified to allow secure communications up to NATO secret. By means of software downloads, the transceivers can already implement important functions required during a mission
These transceivers provide national data links that bring real-time, jam-resistant secure transfer of data, voice and navigation information between widely dispersed elements.
The state-of-the-art airborne transceivers feature frequency hopping and encryption capability, as they come with the secure waveforms to achieve information superiority for command and control (C2). The application ranges from secure voice to tactical data covering all scenarios of airborne platforms and for seamless connectivity with ground-based defense and units. These waveforms are extremely robust against hostile jamming and optimized for secure communications in a fast-moving, harsh environment.
Rohde&Schwarz SDARs support interoperability during multi-domain missions between diverse air, naval and ground forces.
Airspace surveillance and control
Safe airspace surveillance and control are made possible by a variety of Rohde&Schwarz detection and location solutions. These include radio direction finders, which report the precise position and direction of airplanes to air traffic controllers. This is vital for air-air, air-ground, and ground-air communications.
The Rohde&Schwarz airborne communications competence portfolio further includes solutions for error detection in radio communications relevant to flight safety, such as radios for detecting simultaneous transmissions. If an air traffic controller receives two overlapping radio transmissions where it is uncertain that two pilots are talking, he might clear the wrong flight for take-off and two aircraft might taxi onto the runway simultaneously. Solutions from Rohde&Schwarz provide protection against such a scenario and the massive delays it would inevitably cause. Furthermore, a globally unique solution enables the voice quality of pilots and air traffic controllers to be checked so that potential errors can be identified.
This scenario is especially relevant when military and commercial aircrafts share the same airspace.
Air operations control
Aviation safety constantly needs to keep pace without making compromises. Safety and security are non-negotiable, and operations must also remain efficient and flexible; in all air-air, air-ground, and ground-ground communications.
Rohde&Schwarz future-proof R&S®VCS-R/B full IP air traffic communications systems contribute to air traffic safety with a field-proven solution that provides clear separation between the red/secure and black/non-secure domains and enables any military air traffic control operator at any air operations control center to connect to any radio anywhere at any time.
Communications are a given, 100% of the time.
Airspace Protection
Convenient solutions for monitoring radio networks enable identification of disturbances and interferences so they can be safely eliminated. With their help, all signals in air-air, air-ground, and ground-ground communications, go exactly where they are wanted on densely occupied airspace radio networks, without spilling over into other frequency bands.
Protection against drones in any airspace is paramount. Apart from safety and security concerns, drones can also cause economic and operational damage. To minimize the downtime such incidents cause, early warning and reliable localization of both the drone and especially its pilot is crucial. To effectively counter a threat, early warning is critical – every second counts, especially at airports. R&S®ARDRONIS from Rohde&Schwarz detects commercial drone activity, automatically classifying the type of drone signal, determining the direction of the drone and its pilot, and (on command) disrupting the radio control (RC) link to prevent the drone from reaching its target.
Solutions from Rohde&Schwarz keep the airspace free of disruptions in order for continuous and uninterrupted air traffic.
The full package
The technical and technological expertise of Rohde&Schwarz offers customers low risk and supports them by offering comprehensive services throughout all phases of air-air, air-ground, and ground-ground communications lifecycle. A global service network with local contacts ensures short response times. The service portfolio includes standardized products, such as calibration and repair services, and individual service concepts tailored to customer requirements.
The independent, privately owned company, as a technology pioneer, develops, produces and markets a wide range of communications, electronic support and signals intelligence and security solutions, making an important contribution to a safer and connected world. Customers worldwide rely on Rohde&Schwarz and its cutting-edge innovations. In addition to its established business fields, the company has made substantial investments in future technologies such as artificial intelligence, the industrial internet of things (IIoT), 6G, cloud solutions and quantum technology.