Submarine communication peformance in Naval tactical intra-task force networks

When participating in an intra-task force communications network, an attack submarine (SSN) is disadvantaged with respect to the other participating platforms for the following reasons. 1) Because of the nature of its missions, it participates in the network on an intermittent basis. Thus, its connectivity is disadvantaged in terms of time. 2) Its connectivity is also disadvantaged in terms of distance and link quality because its antennas are poorer. This disadvantaged connectivity is especially problematic in networks which, for reasons of adaptability and survivability, use protocols which are dynamic and are based on distributed control. The authors present the results of a study of enhancements to the baseline handoff assignment multiple access/ minimum cover approximation (HAMA/MINCAP) intra-task force network protocols to deal with the problems associated with the participation of SSNs in the network. The problems associated with SSN participation in this network are typical of such networks and thus the results have a more general applicability