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The Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN) is a United States Air Force (USAF) airborne communications relay and gateway system hosted on a variety of aircraft designated as the EQ-4B (Global Hawk variant) and E-11A (Global Express modification). BACN enables real-time information flow across the battlespace between similar and dissimilar tactical data link and voice systems through relay, bridging, and data translation in Line of Sight (LOS) and Beyond Line of Sight (BLOS) situations.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=The Official Home Page of the U.S. Air Force )〕 By acting as a translation proxy between dissimilar communications systems, it allows interoperability without modification to the individual platforms' systems. Because of its flexible deployment options and ability to operate at high altitudes, BACN can enable air and surface forces to overcome communications difficulties caused by complex mountainous terrain and range while performing as a key node for tactical networks. BACN provides decision-makers at all operational echelons with critical information and increases situational awareness by correlating tactical and operational air and ground pictures. For example, an Army unit on the ground currently sees a different picture than an aircrew, but with BACN, both can see the same picture. On 22 February 2010, the Air Force and Northrop Grumman BACN Team received the 2010 Network Centric Warfare Award from the Institute for Defense and Government Advancement.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Northrop Grumman Airborne Communications System Wins Award for Outstanding Industry Achievement (NYSE:NOC) )〕 ==Purpose== Individual tactical data links (e.g., Link 16, EPLRS, etc...] are just a part of the larger tactical data link network, encompassing tactical data links, common data links, and weapon data links. Most military platforms or units are equipped with a tactical data link capability tailored to their individual missions. Those tactical data link capabilities are not necessarily interoperable with one another, preventing the digital exchange of information between military units. BACN acts as a universal translator, or gateway, that makes the tactical data links work with one another. BACN also serves as an airborne repeater, connecting tactical data link equipped military units that are not within line of sight of one another. An operational example would be: * A B-1 flying an orbit on one side of a mountain range needs to communicate with a Tactical Air Control Party located in a valley on the opposite side of the mountain. * The mountain prevents line-of-sight voice and data communication * A BACN flying an orbit over the mountain range would act as an airborne communications repeater and TDL gateway connecting the two units * The TACP can digitally send targeting information to the B-1 cockpit and communicate via the BACN aircraft * The two units are able to communicate in near-real time without requiring limited SATCOM resources or other bandwidth constrained beyond-line-of-sight methods 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Battlefield Airborne Communications Node」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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