CASE STUDY
4TH STRYKER BRIGADE

4TH STRYKER BRIGADE ACHIEVESCOMMUNICATIONS MOBILITY WITH WAVE™
WAVE ENHANCES SITUATIONAL AWARENESS AND TACTICAL COORDINATIONWAVE SOLUTIONSFEATURESThe U.S. Army wanted a leaner, more agile force. Their top priorities were rapid
deployment over long distances and quicker movement of infantry to the battlefield. The
4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division epitomized the challenge. The very
mobility and flexibility that defines Stryker operations also highlighted the shortcomings ofexisting hardware-based communications systems. In order to complete the mission andprotect its soldiers, 4th Stryker chose to deploy WAVE.
THE CHALLENGE
The 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry
Division is a technologically advanced, tacticallymobile unit. Its 4,000 servicemen and women often
find themselves at the very frontline of a dynamic andunpredictable battlefield.
With dramatic advances in technology, warfighters
have a comprehensive view of the battlefield, withdecision-makers close to sources of intelligence.
Likewise, command personnel at every level are awareof even the smallest situational changes with increasing
immediacy. Lives depend on the timely transfer ofaccurate information between field and command units.
In the last few years, 4th Stryker advanced its
communications capabilities with a tactical operations
communication system that allowed field units onradio networks to communicate directly with commandpersonnel at Tactical Operations Centers (TOCs).
Unfortunately, the system relied on non-IP architecture
and a series of proprietary hardware components,
presenting significant complications and shortcomings
that potentially increased the risk to troops andhindered mission success.
Using a hardware-based system required each TOC
and field unit to manage multiple pieces of equipment,
sacrificing precious agility and creating a great dealof inflexibility in the layout of new positions. Thissystem also demanded significant bandwidth overhead,
and its standard switching unit only allowed eightradio networks to interconnect. With each battalion
handling up to 12 networks, units were forced to either
carry even more hardware, or leave those networks
unmonitored.

Mobility & Access
Innovations“Lighten the load” byeliminating rigid, cableladen footprints at Tactical
Operations Centers facilitating
better vertical and horizontalcommunications.
Location Independence
Capitalizes on wirelessclassified networks andthe global prevalence ofIP networks to seamlessly
connect an unlimited number ofusers no matter where they arein the world.
System-of-Systems
Architecture
Relies on standards-based
software to avoid theunnecessary complexityand expense of proprietary
hardware solutions andempower unlimited scalability.
Extensive Interoperability
Remove borders, boundaries
and limitations by uniting
all communication devices
regardless of technology,
manufacturer, frequency oroperator.
Complete Survivability
Provides groundbreakingredundancy and self-healing
properties, including
autonomous offline operations,peerto- peer communications
and automatic failover.

CASE STUDY
4TH STRYKER BRIGADE

THE SOLUTION

THE RESULTSWAVE software was independently selected andsuccessfully deployed by a number of units throughout
the U.S. Army. Based on this mission-tested status
and discussions with the WAVE solutions team, 4th
Stryker determined that only WAVE could meet theirrequirements for bridging the gap between radio
networks on the battlefield and the established IP
networks where higher-echelon decisions are made.

Improved Mobility & Decision Making
Brigade commanders can now monitor, manage andparticipate in real-time communications from any
TOC or in the field using virtually whatever equipment
is available, from radio equipment to IP phones andlaptops. This allows for faster and more informed
decision making before, during and after the mission.

WAVE software capitalizes on the simple power ofsoftware to provide a unified network worthy of 4th
Stryker’s advanced nature. By minimizing the physicalhardware load and the equipment footprint within each
TOC, frontline war fighters can quickly move from one
area of operations to another and establish securecommunications even when conventional line-of-sightradio systems are unable to do so.
WAVE software also allows 4th Stryker to achieve
secure and reliable unified communications between
battlefield networks of differing capability andperformance. TOC communications personnel canquickly configure WAVE to support any network type,enabling full communications interoperability acrossmulticast, unicast and mixed-mode networks while
keeping bandwidth requirements to a minimum.

Enhanced Situational Awareness and Tactical
Coordination
WAVE is deployed at seven brigade- and battalion-level
TOCs monitoring both FM and TACSAT radio networks.
It facilitates vertical communication and enables
battalions to share network access horizontally with asingle click of an icon.
WAVE Proposed as U.S. Army Standard
According to one representative of 4th Stryker,
WAVE functionality and quality is so high that a key
brigade commander refuses to communicate using
any other channels. And after nearly two years of use,
4th Stryker’s confidence in WAVE led to a proposal
to become the U.S. Army’s standard for unified
communications technology.

At the same time, WAVE offers the ability to connect
an unlimited number of users at all levels of the Army’s
hierarchy, whether across the battlefield or around theworld, regardless of their communications device.
Entirely standards-based, WAVE gives the 4th Stryker
the vital flexibility to integrate easily with commercial
off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware. The brigade chose tobuild the system using Cisco routers for their superiorreliability and resistance to overheating. If necessary,
existing hardware-based radio components can also
be incorporated into the system, optimizing taxpayer
investment.

For more information about WAVE, please contact your Motorola
representative or visit motorolasolutions.com/wave.
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owners. ©2016 Motorola, Inc. All rights reserved. Images provided by Creative Commons. Republished 02-2016