JTIDS

From Scramble - The Aviation Magazine

Joint Tactical Information Distribution System - JTIDS

MIDS/JTIDS is a high capacity, ECM-resistant communications link designed for all services (air, surface and land) and all platform types, i.e. for C2 and non-C2 units. The requirement for high capacity constrained the link to a UHF solution, thereby limiting the range of the system to direct LOS, but uses relay techniques designed into the system to achieve BLOS performance.

The term MIDS was used to define NATO’s requirement for an ECM resistant information distribution system, that was already defined by the US as JTIDS.

MIDS/JTIDS supports three message standards: Link 16, IJMS and Variable Message Format (VMF).

MIDS/JTIDS uses a Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) architecture. An enhancement using a Distributed TDMA architecture was also under development to provide a further increase in capacity but development was cancelled in the mid-1980s. Activities are being undertaken to examine other higher bandwidth options whilst retaining the basic MIDS/JTIDS waveform.