# Harnessing the Potential of Emerging Technologies to Break Down Barriers in Tactical Communications
## 4 Use Cases
### Use Case 11: Military Data Networks  
In the military field, it is essential to establish communications between the different platforms during a tactical operation or mission since, in this way, it is possible to make efficient decisions quickly, accurately, and, above all, safely. This is made by \"tactical data links\", which ensure optimal situational awareness and command and control capabilities in increasingly challenging environments. In general, the most popular data links used are Link 11, Link 16, and Link 22.  
Link 11, also known as the \"tactical digital information link\" (TADIL), provides an exchange of tactical information on naval, air, and land operations. It operates with HF or UHF radios. Link 16 is an improved data link standard used mainly by NATO and whose main objective is to transmit and exchange information in real-time, mainly between planes by means of RF signals that operate within the line of sight of other network members. This Link 16 has more security, speed, and an increase in the volume of information that can be transmitted compared to Link 11. Link 16 operates on the TDMA principle, where time slots are allocated between all participating Links 16 for transmitting and receiving data.  
Link 22 is also known as the \"NATO-improved Link Eleven\" (NILE) program and is the most recent standard. This link replaces Link 11 and complements Link 16, improving low data rate, robustness, and susceptibility to interference. Link 16 provides short-range information exchange, while Link 22 enhances this feature by providing long-range information exchange. The most characteristic of this new data link is the automated bandwidth and the ability to use HF, UHF, and frequency-hopping networks. It is worth highlighting the tactical data link, especially for helicopters, the \"variable message format\" (VMF). It is especially important in bandwidth-constrained communications situations, for example, when using CNR. VMF is mostly transmitted by single-channel radio systems, like SINCGARS, CNR, or HAVEQUICK.  
Each of these protocols includes a series of messages with a specific format to transmit certain information necessary in an operation or mission. For example, the positions of troops or combatants, information about possible mines, SOS messages, obstacle positions, enemy information, evacuations, etc. All of this helps to understand the environment on the battlefield during a mission. We selected two technologies as shown in Table 3: situational awareness (potentially seen as telepresence technologies) and NS. On the one hand, situational awareness helps to enhance knowledge of everything that surrounds the situation within a mission or operation. This is a concept widely used in the military field. It has also been extended to the space sector recently. On the other hand, the other technology that we selected is NS, which arises with 5G. This choice is based on the fact that by having so many different data links, each of them can be processed in a different slice. This allows not having multiple terminals as now happens in a traditional scenario. Currently, each data link to create the data transmission network is made with a different terminal. NS enables you to manage and orchestrate everything within the same terminal, thanks to the virtualization characteristics.  
5G NR is a fundamental part of this type of scenario as it allows greater flexibility in the way resources are allocated. That is, multiple types of waves or signals are sent in a given bandwidth. This provides much more capacity and, with it, the possibility of transmitting many more messages simultaneously in real time.