The Flexnet-Waveform in the international SDR arena

The FlexNet-Waveform (FN-WF) is a new, highly-configurable MANET waveform for the international ground-based SDR arena, designed for the new FlexNet-One and FlexNet-Four hardware platforms. To ensure maximum compatibility and interoperability, the FN-WF assumes an IP-based platform with standard COTS protocols on the wired, Ethernet connections, while the wireless links utilize the best practices both from standardized and proprietary protocols, which allows FN-WF to provide the bandwidth capacity as well as the transmission opportunities to meet the needs of the modern warfighter. This paper will describe the functional architecture, design trade-offs, and protocols developed for the FN-WF, as well as possible future directions in functionality. It will also present performance results based on customer acceptance tests, shared code simulation models, and real-world field demonstrations.