'Most Innovative Defense Technology' 2008 Award Nominee
mROVER Video Transciever
L-3 Communications
The mROVER (Rover 5) Handheld Video link is a portable transceiver which can receive live video and metadata from remote or airborne sensors. Unlike its predecessor Rovers, that supported receive-only functions, (downlink), Rover 5 can also transmit commands and information back to the source, thus adapting to rapid changing situations, characteristic with rapid 'kill chain' procedures. The receiver supports Ku-band, C-band, S-band, L-band, and UHF signals.
ROVER 5 provides enhanced air/ground coordination which shortens talk-on-target for time-critical operations. ROVER 5 is designed to operate with encryption. Because ROVER 5 is a versatile Software Defined Radio, it is forward compatible through easily loadable upgrades for both radio and video codecs. ROVER 5 is also backward-compatible and interoperable with the thousands of ROVER III, eROVER and ROVER 4 units fielded to date, as well as the platforms they support, such as Predator, Shadow, Dragon Eye, Litening Pod, and other Joint and Coalition assets.
Reasons for Recommendation:
The Rover 4 video datalink receiver has been fielded for several years and, within a short time proved extremely successful. Rover has been fielded with Joint Terminal Air Controllers (JTAC). Rover proved an invaluable tool by breaking the barrier between services and hierarchies, expediting real-time imaging to support the 'boots on the ground'. With mRover, this important capability will receive even more substance, as the user will no longer be restricted to a passive role, but will be able to shape, adapt, guide and focus the supporting sensors to their needs.
