Near Term Digital Radio (NTDR) system

The Near Term Digital Radio (NTDR) system is an Army open architecture networked data radio serving as a backbone for platoon to brigade that utilizes commercial modules and a standard bus. The NTDR system architecture employs a two-tier hierarchical network concept designed to increase capacity and reduce multiple access interference and relay delays. This paper presents an overview of the development of the NTDR system from market surveys conducted by the Communications Electronics Command (CECOM) to a contract being managed by the Tactical Radio Communications Systems Program Manager (PM TRCS). Some testing results from the Future Digital Radio Broad Area Announcement (FDR BAA) are presented in this discussion as well as the cooperative test approach that included industry, CECOM, and the Electronic Proving Ground (EPG). The theory of operation and the current build description of the NTDR hardware and software are presented as the system is prepared for the Division XXI exercise (DIV XXI). Test results from the early testing are discussed and an overview of modeling results of network performance in a tactical environment is presented