MIL-STD-6011 exchanges digital information among airborne, land-based, and shipboard tactical data systems. It is the primary means to exchange data such as radar tracking information beyond line of sight. TADIL-A can be used on either high frequency or ultrahigh frequency. However, the U.S. Army uses only HF. Link 11 relies on a single platform to report positional information on sensor detections. This positional information can be amplified with additional data to qualify the identity of the detected track. Link 11 was developed by Ralph Benjamin while with the Admiralty Surface Weapons Establishment, Portsmouth. Link 11 will be replaced by Link 22. Link 11 is defined by the United States Department of Defense as MIL-STD-6011. The NAUTIS originally included the Link 11 system as installed in the Royal New Zealand Navy's s as part of the mid-life upgrades in the 1980s HMNZS Canterbury; NAUTIS versions were also found on the Royal Navy Hunt-class minesweepers.
Technical Characteristics
Link 11 is a half-duplex, netted link that normally operates by roll call from a Data Net Control Station. Link 11 can also operate in the broadcast mode. The roll call mode of operation used in the Link 11 interface requires that each Participating Unit respond in turn while all other stations are receiving. A DNCS initiates the roll call by addressing and transmitting an interrogation message to a specific PU that then responds by transmitting its data. The DNCS then interrogates the next PU in the prescribed roll call. Link 11 can be transmitted on High Frequency and/or Ultra High Frequency bands. Data speed can be selected from bit rates of 2250 or 1364 bits per second. Dual sideband diversity operation and Doppler shift correction features improve reliability and accuracy of data exchange. Link 11 operates on HF and/or UHF . Some Data Terminal Sets provide the option to select either the Conventional Link 11 Waveform or the Single tone Link 11 Waveform. SLEW and CLEW are not compatible waveforms. SLEW, among other enhancements, provides increased propagation and a more powerful Error Detection and Correction algorithm. While the option exists to operate in either CLEW or SLEW, all participants in a given Link 11 net must select the same waveform to achieve connectivity between units. Link 11 is defined in Military Standard 6011, Tactical Data Link A/B Message Standard.
