ABSTRACT
The future fight will demand that the ADF have trusted communications with untrusted partners in a degraded, denied, intermittent, and limited bandwidth (DDIL) environment. To meet this need, Penten have developed the HLX communication suite to provide interoperable standards-based communications with partner and proxy forces. The HLX suite consists of proven soldier-proof hardware and software assured by Penten. At its core is an unencumbered sovereign cryptographic implementation designed for Sovereign Assured communications. HLX hardware ranges from a bump-in-the-wire voice and position encryptor, through to a full-featured handheld tactical voice and data terminal. The tightly integrated software suite includes a tactical messaging and moving map situational awareness package, facilitation of email and SMS messaging between the HLX network and IP infrastructure, and IP-based extension of HLX radio networks. The suite is interoperable with ATAK, straightforward to integrate with military and commercial radios, and intuitive to use. This presentation will explain how the HLX suite facilitates Sovereign Assured interoperability between partner force radios and ADF radios. This includes an introduction to the standards used, the advantages and limitations of baseband audio facilitated interoperation, and the opportunities created by HLX's ATAK integration. We will then explore the hardware embodiments of HLX, the software communications suite, and the measures taken to provide sovereign assurance. Finally, we will illustrate a range of use cases in the domains of partner and proxy force enablement, operations in DDIL environments, and interoperability between arbitrary radios.

BIOGRAPHY
Mark Toogood is an R&D Engineer in the Office of the CTO at Penten. Formerly an Electronic Warfare specialist in the Australian Army, he has over 13 years of contemporary tactical and strategic SIGINT experience. More recently, he has been focussed on enabling standards based secure digital voice interoperability between sovereign communication equipment and arbitrary untrusted radios.