SNC TRAX® Software – Connecting the Battlefield with Operationalized Data

Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) continues to be a game changer in solving longstanding interoperability challenges that stem from incompatible and disparate message protocols across battlefields. SNC Tactical Radio Application eXtension (SNC TRAX) software provides the integration platform to inform decision making through a connected battlefield, operationalizing the data for all-domains.

SNC TRAX software is designed to support command, control, communications, computers, combat systems, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C5ISR) missions at the strategic, operational and tactical levels. It provides a combined air-maritime-ground common operating system, leveraging military and commercial open-based standards.

“SNC TRAX was created in 2011 to integrate data and information from the many different tactical radios that were in use,” said Zach Waller, SNC’s director of business development for network communication systems. “We built a software application that could run on any hardware and actually exploit the data that was coming off those tactical radios to share.”

SNC TRAX is, in effect, a software translator that takes information in any commonly used format and provides it in the language needed by the recipient so that unit, platform, or weapons system can act. It is similar to an online translator, but one that can convert multiple languages simultaneously into fluent English. SNC TRAX processes complex Military Standard data that may be generated by a one-of-a-kind sensor or presented in a unique format and translate it into a common interface that enables the integration of multiple user interfaces, the querying of databases, and the application of analytics at machine speeds.

Designed for the non-traditional tactical data link (TDL) user, SNC TRAX allows for the ease-of-use required at the tactical edge, but is powerful enough to provide the full command and control (C2) capabilities of a command center. The user interface requires limited training to operate without needing additional hardware to support it. The system has been proven in the hands of tactical operators in operations centers, ground vehicles, air and surface platforms worldwide.

As the number of networked players has increased, so has the complexity of their networks. SNC has proven the ability to connect communications devices used by military personnel and first responders to clearly and seamlessly connect and share data with each other is critical to protecting and saving lives on the battlefield and in emergencies.

Most recently, SNC partnered with Klas Government, Inc. to create the SNC TRAX-enabled TRIK TDL Gateway, a lightweight mobile system combining cutting-edge hardware and software capabilities, making it an agnostic, secure broker of data across domains. The Gateway creates immediate and simplified joint interoperability regardless of network or domain. This new technology continues SNC’s drive for innovation beyond imagination.

“We went out to industry and found this solution to be the most advanced small-form factored gateway we could actually utilize,” Waller said. “With our collaboration with Klas Government we’ve developed a system, with SNC TRAX as the foundation of the system, talking to all of these various tactical radios that are swappable, meaning you can remove and replace different radios depending on the mission set, to join that true gateway of systems.”

Learn more about SNC TRAX by visiting Radio & Communication Systems.