SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. -- Seymour Johnson Air Force Base started to upgrade its communications systems, May 22, 2017, after receiving new land mobile radios.
The new LMRs are more advanced, secure, and reliable said Senior Airman Nenos David, 4th Communications Squadron radio technician.
“With these new LMRs, we have the capability to create our own secured network,” David said. “We are able to create our own keys for encryption and decryption. Thanks to our new software system, we can even remotely give a specific LMR a secured transmission capability.”
The new software labeled the IP P25 Trunking System has numerous more capabilities than the previous Type 2 Trunking System.
“In the event an LMR gets lost or misplaced, we can manually turn them off from our office,” said Airman 1st Class David Belken, 4th CS radio technician. “This greatly improves our operational security.”
David added the new system can also individually name the radios.
“While it doesn’t seem like such a big deal, it actually helps us out a lot,” David said.
By being able to name each radio, the technicians can more easily keep track of and identify the LMRs, allowing them to encrypt, turn off or get in touch with a specific LMR much quicker than before.
Currently, 942 new radios, consisting of the Motorola XTS5000, XTL5000 and the APX series, have been programmed and distributed by the 4th CS.
“These new LMRs really are great,” said David. “The extra security and capabilities they offer pushes our abilities further than we could have gone before.”