Tactical Digital Information Link - Technical Advice and Lexicon for Enabling Simulation (TADIL-TALES)

Link 16 is a Communications, Navigation, and Identification CNI system, intended to exchange surveillance and Command and Control C2 information among various C2 and weapons platforms, which enhance the missions of each service. NATO STANAG 5516MIL-STD-6016 describes the TADIL J message formats and Link 16 network instructions. Several protocols have evolved to satisfy specific needs. The NATO STANAG 5602 SIMPLE Link 16 Standard is one such protocol. The standard is designed to be complementary to the SIMPLE Standard. Recently, the Simulation Interoperability Standards Organization SISO has developed a Link 16 Simulation Standard. The objective of the simulation standard is to establish a single format to exchange TADIL J messages, and emulate a Link 16 radio frequency network that supports Distributed Missions Operations DMO training for the warfighter. In developing a standard for simulating Link 16 in Distributive Interactive Simulation DIS and High Level Architecture HLA, it is recognized that there are widely varying requirements for achieving fidelity among different users. The IEEE 1278.1a-1998 Standard describes established DIS Transmitter and Signal Protocol Data Units PDUs, but they are not specifically defined for Link 16 simulation. The SISO Link 16 Standard does not change the IEEE 1278.1a-1998 Standard fields for the Transmitter or Signal PDUs, but exploits the fact that both PDUs are variable length. For Transmitter PDUs, the standard defines how the variable length modulation parameter fields must be populated. For Signal PDUs, Link 16 specific information is relegated to the variable length data fields. This paper presents the Link 16 DIS Transmitter and Signal PDU structures, HLA HLA BOM Object Model Templates OMTs, general requirements, and implementation guidelines that provide interoperability among C2 systems.