An Approach to T&E of Military SDR Platforms and Waveforms: the LANCERS Lab

Software Defined Radio (SDR) is currently one of the main topics of interest in military communications, as well as in civil ones. Since 2002, the Italian Ministry of Defense (MoD) has identified the SDR technology as a strategic capability. In this respect, Italy has become part of the major multinational programs related to military SDR and waveforms, such as ESSOR (European Secure Software Radio) and COALWNW (COALition Wideband Networking Waveform). In addition, the Italian national SDR program (SDR-N) aims at developing a complete family of SDR products, part of which are already available for fielding. In order to develop a governmental capability of Test and Evaluation (T&E) for future SDR, minimizing the risks related to the fielding of this new technology, a dedicated laboratory, called LANCERS lab, has been established in the premises of CSSN ITE (Centro Supporto e Sperimentazione Navale Istituto per le Telecomunicazioni e lElettronica), a research center of the Italian Navy. LANCERS lab gathers the expertise of military technical personnel and University researchers, to provide a twofold capability: developing T&E strategies and procedures for the new tactical communications based on SDR and maintaining knowledge about the state of the art of SDR, fostering new research and development. In this paper we describe the LANCERS lab in all the following aspects: plan of development, organization, current activities, and future perspectives.