Modeling mobile network connectivity in the presence of jamming

The Network Connectivity Analysis Model (NCAM) is a general purpose radio frequency (RF) event-based simulator that addresses the physical layer of the International Organization for Standards (IOS) Open System Interconnect (OSI) 7-layer model for wireless communication systems. With a modular design hierarchically organized to emulate an actual physical test setup, NCAM provides the U.S. Army with an extremely flexible modeling and simulation capability that could predict the impact of RF interference on mobile tactical communication networks. NCAM can simulate any number of radios or jammers in ground-based platforms. This paper describes the algorithms of each module in the model and the capabilities and features of its event-based simulation that supports dynamic state changes such as antenna swap, antenna height adjustment, radio on/off, etc. It can also pause, save, and resume simulation at a later time, for classified runs. Verified and validated by the Communication-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center (CERDEC), NCAM has been used to support tactical communication networks analysis.