The use of high frequency automatic link establishment radio system as a discrete sounder for Navy ship-shore communications

The author describes an attempt to use HF automatic link establishment (ALE) radio equipment as a ship-shore sounder in the Mediterranean Sea. The method selected as potentially most effective for HF channel selection purposes was a state-of-the-art HF ALE radio system. This system consists of fully automatic microprocessor-controlled HF radio transceivers incorporating the ALE control protocols and waveform specified in MIL-STD-188-141A. The primary result of the test was that the use of the HF ALE radio system as a sounder to support VFCT (voice frequency carrier telegraph) HF terminations provided no operating advantage in the Mediterranean operating areas. It is concluded that, in spite of the inability to find a ready solution for HF communications in the Mediterranean, this was a very successful test. The ALE radio system performance data obtained provides a first real-world glimpse at how MIL-STD-188-141A might serve the navy in future automated HF communications system