Israeli C4I Network Extends Special Ops Reach
By Barbara Opall-Rome 10:41 a.m. EST January 27, 2015
http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/show-daily/solic/2015/01/26/israel-c4i-network-special-operations-roip-radio/22039469/

TEL AVIV — As Israel grapples with an arc of threats that emanate up and
around the Arabian Sea, an Internet Protocol (IP)-supported communications
network is augmenting its ability to command complex operations at its
borders and far beyond.

Elements of the voice over IP (VoIP) network have been operational for
years, and officials here credit it for supporting a months-long mission
that culminated in the March 2014 seizure of an Iranian arms cache some
1,500 kilometers from Israel's Red Sea coast.

But it was only in late December that the network was declared fully
operational, connecting special units commanded by the Israel Defense Forces
(IDF) General Staff and IDF headquarters with all echelons operating under
Israel's three territorial commands.

"It's state-of-the-art and it's operational IDF-wide as of the end of 2014,"
said Col. Yossi Mashiah, who managed the program as head of the Maof C4I
Programs and Systems Engineering Department, part of the C4I Directorate of
the IDF General Staff.

"We're relative pioneers in this world. We started in early 2000 and now I
can say with pride that no matter where the commanders are or where the
forces are, there's a single network-based radio communications for
everyone."

He added, "At the end of the day, you win wars and successfully accomplish
special missions with radio."

In a mid-January interview, Mashiah said parts of the network were used to
support tactical forces in last summer's Protective Edge operation in Gaza.

"In the past half-year, our people were in the field tweaking things. We
went to Gaza to fix a satellite terminal one day and were out in the field
with command centers on other days. ... Now it's all humming nicely," he
said.

As for special missions, Mashiah cited last year's Operation Full
Disclosure, when Israel tracked the Klos C arms smuggling ship as it plied
the Arabian Gulf, eventually seizing it as it made its way up through the
Red Sea.

"Where ever you have the infrastructure for backhauling, you can use it,"
Mashiah said. "I can't provide any more specifics, but suffice it to say
that this operational network of ours has been very broadly deployed."

The multiyear program, which Mashiah estimated cost "tens of millions" of
dollars, is managed by Maof and operated by the IDF's Choshen Brigade, also
part of the C4I Branch of the IDF General Staff.

Technology and standards are developed by state-owned Rafael, part of them
under subcontract to Elbit Systems, developer of the IDF's digital C4I
network, known as Tzayad, or Digital Army Program (DAP).

The Hebrew name for the network is classified. For public consumption,
program officials generically refer to it as Radio over IP (RoiP).

But Avriel S., a product line manager in Rafael's Communications Directorate
whose surname is withheld by the company for security reasons, says the
network is much more than a radio system. Elements of the IDF system are
available to export to license-approved nations under land- and sea-based
systems marketed by Rafael, respectively, under the names C4I-Connect and
Sea-Com.

"It's radio, but it's actually voice and data IP," said Avriel S. "Radio is
part of the voice communications, but everything can be transferred over
this infrastructure, including telephony, intercom and all types of data.
The RoiP project enables true interoperability by transferring voice and
data between forces and across all command echelons."

For all operations, including special operations, the network — which the
Rafael executive noted is actually an application that lays on the IDF's IP
infrastructure — enables mission planning and mission implementation even in
instances when servers are jammed or shut down.

"This is one of the special features. As long as they use smart terminals,
everything will remain working without interference as long as the IP
network is available, even in instances when servers are jammed or shut
down," Avriel S. said. "Once the communication traffic between users and the
radio is established, you don't need any server. You can't allocate new
sessions, but those already on can keep on transmitting and receiving."

Another feature, he said, is the high reliability and inherent security
measures built into the system, which is unlimited by range and adaptable to
any method of communications relay.

"The ROIP communications are flexible and highly efficient, no matter where
the forces are and whether they are supported by microwave link, satellites,
whatever," Avriel S. said.

Mashiah said more sophisticated versions are in the works to hone
connectivity with the Israel Air Force, which now uses its own system to
patch into the network. An electronics engineer specializing in tactical
communication, he retired in mid-January after 27 years in the IDF, most of
them in the Signals Corps.

"I've been with this program from the beginning, since I was a major, and I
can tell you that it's already revolutionized our ability to operate as a
joint, networked force," he said. "We've left the world of point-to-point
communications via radio. Now it's flexible. It's everywhere to everywhere,
unlimited by range or the amount of users authorized to be on the net."

Email: bopallrome@defensenews.com.