Prospects of Troposcatter Systems in Military Communication Networks

In modern military operations, ensuring resilient and secure communications in contested or infrastructure-deficient environments remains a strategic priority. Tropospheric scatter systems (troposcatter) are regaining attention due to their ability to provide beyond-line-of-sight (BLOS) connectivity without relying on satellites or terrestrial infrastructure. This paper explores the role of troposcatter systems in military communication networks, presents the current capabilities of troposcatter systems and provides insights into advancements of this technology such as adaptive beamforming and Multiple Input Multiple Output Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (MIMO-OFDM) architectures. Building on these insights, the research investigates the use of Orthogonal Time Frequency Space (OTFS) modulation for tropospheric communications. Preliminary simulations conducted under severe multipath conditions demonstrate that OTFS outperforms traditional OFDM, offering improved signal integrity, reduced error vector magnitude, and greater spectral efficiency. These results suggest that OTFS-enabled troposcatter systems could enhance the current performance of military communication networks, particularly in interference-prone environments.