Using Barrett 977 AVL as a Security Tool
A convoy carrying a peace road mission leaves the compound; six well equipped Land Cruisers heading into the hinterland on a short mission. It is a normal day, it’s quiet in the capital, but everyone is well aware that this is a country under siege and safety is a scant privilege.
Work completed the team begin the trek back to base and relative safety, but suddenly the lead vehicle is engulfed in an explosion, a land mine has been activated and the vehicle overturns, blocking the road. At that moment RPG and strafing gun fire is rained down from the surrounding hillsides, it’s an ambush; luckily no one has been hurt, the Land Cruiser is tough and the gun fire is short lived and inaccurate. The convoy is stranded in an area with no cell phone infrastructure, the sat-phones have no coverage here and the VHF system is well out of range however, the Barrett HF system has been reliably and silently tracking the convoy and relaying its position back to base.
Back at base the Radio Operator has been monitoring the convoy’s progress on the Barrett 977 AVL system and realises it has stopped, an alarm is bleeping, warning that this is an unscheduled stop in an area of risk. In quick succession an emergency call comes in over the Barrett HF from one of the convoy vehicles, raising a further alarm and asking for assistance and possible medical aid. The operator has already noted the position of the emergency from the data provided by the Barrett tracking system and the coordinates have been relayed to the base helicopter, which is scrambled in a matter of moments. It is also Barrett equipped and is able to communicate with the convoy during flight to establish the exact situation on the ground.
The helicopter is able to land nearby and administer assistance and evacuate personnel whilst the damaged vehicle is removed, allowing the convoy to continue back to base and safety.This is an account based on an incident that really happened, and whilst rare, it demonstrates the ability of HF two way radio to communicate without supporting infrastructure, in extreme circumstances, when all the other available modes of communication are rendered inoperable.
Many of us use the Global Positioning System (GPS) via our personal Satellite Navigators (Sat Nav) for domestic navigation in and around our home countries and streets. It’s become common place in trucks, taxis and many other commercial vehicles to speed up deliveries and cut costs. The principle of navigation using the GPS system has been around for many years, primarily used for military purposes until it was made generally available some years back by the US Government. For those people stationed in remote areas of the world the GPS system has made their lives much easier by allowing them to pinpoint their position and find their way safely in and out of areas without roads or infrastructure.
For Barrett the GPS system represents a great deal more than a simple navigation system. By fitting our HF transceivers with a GPS receiver and antenna we are able to provide our clients with a range of benefits to help secure the safety of their personnel, track assets via AVL (Automatic Vehicle Location) and manage and control field operations in distant and remote areas.
The principal feature of HF two way radio is that it is able to cover very large areas without the encumbrance and risk of infrastructure such as satellites and repeaters. Barrett are able to deploy our HF equipment into a country without supporting infrastructure and quickly have communications coverage of country sized areas, providing services such as voice and data (email) communications, telephone services, and of course Automatic Vehicle Location.
In its simplest form Barrett’s AVL systems provide a simple latitude and longitude read out on the display of the host 2040, 2050 or 2090 transceiver, allowing the operator the comfort of knowing where he is. The positional data held on a host transceiver can also be transmitted by the operator to the base controller or another mobile or manpack transceiver; this is particularly useful in emergency situations. If a mobile or manpack unit is not responding another unit in the network is able to remotely acquire the positional data and send in aid or assistance.
By adding our 977 AVL Management System base controllers are able to monitor field units on a multilevel map with individual ID icons representing individuals or vehicles, and as demonstrated above, maps can be sectioned into areas representing various categories (i.e. Safe, etc). The system will also recognise unscheduled stops, off route excursions and other alert modes.
Find out more from information@barrettcommunications.com.au