CIC partners with AFRL and Global Strike to enhance communications

A team from the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) Information Directorate installed a Permutable, Over-the-air Laboratory for Advanced Radio and Ionospheric Studies (POLARIS) node at the Cyber Innovation Center in Bossier City, Louisiana, Jan. 31. (U.S. Air Force Courtesy Photo by Sean Green, STRIKEWERX)

By Sean Green | Facilitation & Outreach Manager

BOSSIER CITY, La. — The Cyber Innovation Center (CIC), the innovation partner of the Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC) Office of the Chief Scientist, is working together to support an Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) technology aimed at enhancing communications both within the United States and abroad.

AFRL is developing the Permutable, Over-the-air Laboratory for Advanced Radio and Ionospheric Studies (POLARIS) technology to improve the capability of High Frequency (HF) antenna systems to send and receive information. The AFGSC Office of the Chief Scientist has partnered with CIC to install a POLARIS node at the CIC’s facility in Bossier City, Louisiana.  

Air Force Research Lab Assured Communications Team Lead Paul Gilgallon, second from left, gave a tour of the Permutable, Over-the-air Laboratory for Advanced Radio and Ionospheric Studies (POLARIS) node at the Cyber Innovation Center in Bossier City, Louisiana, Feb. 25. (U.S. Air Force Courtesy Photo by Sean Green, STRIKEWERX)

“From the Arctic to Australia, the propagation environment for an HF signal holds key unknowns,” said AFGSC Chief Scientist Dr. Donna Senft. “The POLARIS HF node developed by the AFRL Information Directorate and installed at the CIC as part of a larger network aims to improve the technical maturity and reliability of HF systems.”

POLARIS units are self-contained transceiver nodes housed in rugged containers positioned both domestically and internationally, where they will experiment with and evaluate HF signals.

The effort to modernize HF communications capabilities is driven by the Department of Defense, emphasizing the need to maintain communication under any conditions. 

“We are pleased to support our partners in AFGSC/ST as they work with AFRL to enhance communications,” said CIC President Kevin Nolten. “Modernizing HF communication is critical to national defense and advancing our capabilities for our allies and partners to outpace our adversaries.”