Modernising Australia's military high frequency communication system

The HF long range tactical communication systems currently in use by the Australian Defence Force (ADF) are outdated, inefficient, inflexible, expensive to maintain and operate, and incapable of carrying military traffic of the type and volume envisaged to support command and control in the 21st. century. The ADF's proposed military high frequency communication system (MHFCS) will be the first digital HF communications network of its size in Australia. With its singular features the system design brings with it a number of unique challenges. The overall dimensioning of the system, the need to resort to computer modelling to predict its performance, and the potential for congestion resulting from the requirement for automated connectivity are some of the major issues that have had to be addressed in the design of such a communications network.