Performance testing of STANAG 4406 (Military messaging) using IP over HF

Abstract

This report is the final summary of a test activity of Project 822 SIGVAT HF. The STANAG 4406 (Military Messaging) and its tactical protocol profile has been tested over an HF link supporting IP. The automated HF technologies include the STANAG 4538 (3G HF), STANAG 5066 (2G HF) and HDL+, a data link protocol proposed for standardization. The work has been published in four international papers that are included as appendices in this report. This report references the papers, and add some results that have not been published. By using the S4406 Annex E protocol profile we have shown that a reliable message transfer is possible over an IP network which comprise an HF link. This opens for an architecture where the HF links may be directly utilized also for IP traffic from various other applications. Application Throughputs up to a few kilobits per second were achieved in our tests. However, an HF link will represent a potential "bottleneck" in an IP network and it requires special attention for optimum performance.