TIONG by Mindmatics: Home-Grown Tactical Data Link
A DATA link is a means of connecting one location to another for the purpose of transmitting and receiving digital information. It can also refer to a set of electronics assemblies consisting of a transmitter and a receiver and the interconnecting data telecommunication circuit. Military data links are secure, jam-resistant tactical communication networks used by armed forces to share tactical pictures in near real-time.
Tactical Data Links (TDLs) are specialised communication systems that provide secure, jam-resistant, and near-real-time digital data exchange between military platforms, such as tracks, target data and unit positions. They provide a shared, accurate and near-instantaneous picture of the battlefield or battle space, acting as a force multiplier for air, land and sea operations. TDLs are essential for modern Network-Centric Warfare (NCW), ensuring that all participants in a battle have access to the same, up-to-date information for faster decision-making. TDL is now a must-have in modern conflicts as a force multiplier in joint contacts.
Nations are increasingly developing indigenous TDL systems to achieve “digital sovereignty”, which ensures secure communication using national encryption standards and reduces reliance on foreign military protocols such as NATO’s Link 16. The development comes as nations worldwide seek to establish national tactical data link capabilities to reduce dependence on foreign systems and ensure secure communications with national encryption.
TIONG is a proprietary high-capacity TDL system developed by Mindmatics, a Malaysian defence technology company. It facilitates real-time tactical information exchange between joint military units (aircraft, ships, ground vehicles and command nodes) during operations.
It provides high-capacity data transmission via frequencing hopping algorithms for enhanced security and is jam-resistant to maintain connectivity in contested environments, the company says. It also enhances situational awareness and coordination across different platforms.
“The development of our defence solution with regards to communication and data- sharing meets the concepts lined up in the Malaysian Defence White Paper, Chapter 4 – Commonality of doctrines, procedures, systems and equipment is very important to achieve interoperability between the three services of the Malaysian Armed Forces and also between the agencies that would increase efficiency during joint or combined operations and minimise cost,” says the company.
“Our systems were designed in an open architecture concept that will adapt to all the existing MAF and all other National Agencies’ equipment and assets.” Mindmatics also says that it has always emphasised an open architecture design in all of its equipment to be able to integrate with all other gadgets, equipment, systems and assets from other agencies. “Information- sharing is the key agenda in our design and thus it will provide a huge advantage to our clients in terms of integration with respect to the information-sharing between existing and future systems.”