Tactical Communications Framework Expanded

The intergovernmental Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation has signed a contract amendment with the a4ESSOR joint venture to expand the ESSOR Development Stage #4 program, bringing the total contract value to over EUR 211 million and involving Finland’s Bittium, among industry leaders from other nations.

Under this contract amendment, a4ESSOR will develop a new ESSOR Narrow Band Waveform based on the future NATO standard STANAG 5630 Edition 2. This standardized framework allows the waveform to be ported to national software-defined radios that share the same architecture. The approach enables participating nations and potentially third-party nations to utilize their own national software-defined radios while ensuring full interoperability in tactical communications across both high data rate and narrow band waveforms.

The development work is shared among the six nations participating in the joint venture, represented by their respective industry leaders: Bittium (Finland), Indra (Spain), Leonardo (Italy), Radmor (Poland), Rohde & Schwarz (Germany), and Thales (France). The work is allocated according to the shares of the member states, with Bittium’s share being significantly lower than a directly calculated relative proportion.

This amendment expands upon the capability deployment procurement contract signed in November 2025, which was valued in excess of EUR 47 million and focused on the ESSOR High Data Rate Waveform. Under that previous agreement, the joint venture was tasked with designing a common mission framework for the shared planning of network parameters. Once integrated into each nation’s command-and-control system, this framework will enable the rapid and accurate deployment of multinational networks at the operational level.

The participating companies have previously added advanced features to the high data rate waveform, including electronic protection measures and modern cryptographic standards, leading to its adoption as NATO STANAG 5651 in 2023. The contract also involves conducting extensive field tests across urban, rural, and hilly terrains to evaluate waveform performance under mobility, line-of-sight, non-line-of-sight, and interference conditions, alongside establishing an in-service support framework and a reference laboratory for validation.

“a4ESSOR plays a key role in enabling secure and interoperable communications for European and NATO forces. For Bittium, participation in the program is strategically important, as the ESSOR High Data Rate Waveform has already been successfully deployed in our Tough SDR radios. The programme enables the integration of new standardized waveforms into our radios while supporting national sovereignty and control. The development of the new ESSOR Narrow Band Waveform further strengthens reliable communications across all operational scenarios and enhances interoperability between allied forces,” said Tommi Kangas, Senior Vice President of Bittium’s Defence & Security business segment.

Lino Laganà, President and General Manager of a4ESSOR, said, “a4ESSOR has been active for over 17 years playing a crucial role to develop and test ESSOR capabilities and technologies to address multinational defence requirements as a valuable solution in addition to the existing legacy waveforms. With the development of the ESSOR Narrow Band Waveform, we’re making sure the most extensively used waveform among land forces in operation takes a further step ahead towards NATO standard status, thus boosting the advancement to greater interoperability armed forces from various countries.“

Lino Laganà continued, “The project aligns with the European Union’s strategic objectives of strengthening defence cooperation, enhancing autonomy, and improving the efficiency of combined military missions. By equipping EU member states with secure, interoperable, and scalable communication solutions, the initiative strengthens Europe’s collective ability to respond to threats and ensures seamless coordination in operations.”