Every year in October, 2 CMBG Headquarters and Signal Squadron members conduct Exercise HERMES REACH near Bonnechere Provincial Park in Petawawa, Ontario, Canada. This year, a decentralized command post was set up and run alongside industry partners to experiment and develop capabilities to survive and win in modern conflicts.
As an important partner in tactical communications of the Canadian Armed Forces and a growing player in interoperability solutions for the defense industry worldwide, Base Camp Connect was invited to participate in the preparation of Exercise HERMES REACH 2022 to assist participating squadrons when establishing radio, voice, and data interoperability.
Our CEO Jean-Philippe Grondin and our technical engineer Aryan Kanani, seen to the right in the Exercise HERMES REACH group photo, were responsible for supporting the Signal squadron in connecting the different units on-site using our interoperability systems, the BCC-TACTICAL and the BCC-TVB.
The role of Base Camp Connect
In such exercises, the signal squadron must ensure communications are set up correctly as it has a vital role in maintaining an elevated level of readiness. Usually, preparing all the necessary equipment and connecting them to one another requires several hours, even days, of programming. The call manager and PBX system used by the Signal squadron also presented issues when operating on the network. This is where the Base Camp Connect interoperability solutions came into play.
In under 20 minutes, a mesh network composed of TrellisWare Shadow and MPU5 radios as well as two phones was established simply by connecting the latter to our interoperability systems, a BCC-TACTICAL and a BCC-TVB. Also, in that 20-minute time frame, an unclassified shared internet network to transfer unclassified data was put in place by our technical engineer using a Starlink connected to another BCC-TACTICAL. With these two networks in place using only 3 of our portable interoperability kits, all members participating in Exercise HERMES REACH 2022, whether close by or kilometers apart, could seamlessly communicate through radios, and phones, and even send data.
Although most of the communication equipment was deployed and the configuration was done at the start of the exercise preparation, our team stayed on site for the whole 3 days to assist the Signal squadron in any other communications needs or issues, such as creating VPN tunnels. We also spent time showcasing the features and functionalities of the BCC-TACTICAL and BCC-TVB in depth to the Signal Squadron. The highly positive response from the squadron at the Base Camp Connect systems’ rapid deployment, scalability, and compatibility with their equipment was a great reward for our participation in the exercise preparation.
A chance to participate
Exercise HERMES REACH 2022 was an excellent opportunity for Base Camp Connect to demonstrate our interoperability solutions and showcase their capabilities to the Canadian Armed Forces. As an industry partner, we were proud to contribute to the success of the exercise and support the Signal squadron in establishing communication networks quickly and efficiently.
The exercise also highlighted the importance of rapid deployment and scalability in military communications. With Base Camp Connect‘s interoperability solutions, participants were able to connect different communication equipment seamlessly, regardless of the location, and send data using an unclassified shared internet network.
At Base Camp Connect, we are committed to providing reliable, secure, and rapidly deployable communication solutions that can be used in any scenario, whether in an exercise or during operations. Our BCC-TACTICAL and BCC-TVB systems have been tested and proven in the field, and we continue to innovate and improve our solutions to meet the evolving needs of our clients.
If you’re interested in learning more about our interoperability solutions for the defense industry, you can check our products. If you want to meet us at CANSEC Use the Supply Chain Connect B2B/G meetings platform on your MyCANSEC to book a meeting time with our BCC representatives here!
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