Software-defined Radios
Reconfigurable tactical communications
What it is
Software-defined radios (SDRs) implement waveform, band and encryption in software rather than fixed hardware, so a single radio platform can be reconfigured in the field as the mission and the threat change. They are the foundation of modern tactical communications.
How it is employed
SDRs equip vehicles, command posts and dismounted units with links that adapt to jamming, congestion and changing coalition environments. Because capability lives in software, the fleet is upgraded by update rather than replacement. The communications backbone evolves at the pace of the threat, not the procurement cycle.
Why it matters now
Electronic warfare across recent conflicts has shown static communications failing within days. Buyers also learned that major-power radios come with crypto custody and upgrade approval held abroad. Field-reconfigurable radios under sovereign control answer both pressures.
Procurement & integration
Radio programmes succeed or fail on integration: platform fit, waveform planning, key management and operator training. Unstrat structures the engagement from requirements through fielding, with training and support in-region and no foreign approval gate on future updates.
Capability
- Hybrid SDR architecture: 24-bit conversion behind a passive front-end and crystal roofing filters (8-crystal SSB filter)
- Full HF coverage from 3 to 30 MHz (80 m to 10 m bands) with output stages from 4 W portable to 25 W integrated
- Voice and digital modes on the radio itself, SSB, CW, AM, FT8, RTTY, PSK31 and FreeDV, with no external computer required
- Fully electronic transmit/receive and band switching with a temperature-compensated, low-noise oscillator
- Embedded Raspberry Pi compute with built-in logging, spotting and remote operation over Wi-Fi
- Open-source hardware and software (GPL), fully auditable, hackable and field-repairable, powered from standard LiPo batteries
- The antenna and RF test instrument: antenna tuning, signal-strength and RF diagnostics for maintaining the network in the field
The Unstrat difference
01Independent, non-aligned origin, with no political exposure to any major-power ecosystem.
02One accountable team from first briefing through delivery and in-region sustainment.
03Open-source, field-updatable radios instead of procurement-locked hardware.
Sourcing routes compared
| Consideration | Major-power prime | Independent principal via Unstrat |
|---|---|---|
| Upgrade path | Hardware-locked, gated by a foreign prime's release schedule | Field-updatable software, capability evolves with the mission |
| Crypto custody | Key material and algorithms subject to foreign oversight | Encryption under the buyer's national control |
| Political conditions | Disclosure rules, re-export restrictions and upgrade approvals held by a foreign government | Independent, non-aligned origin, accountable to the buyer's flag |
| Sustainment | Support tied to the supplier's home market and political relationship | Sustainment, spares and training delivered in-region for the life of the system |
Comparison is qualitative. Detailed specifications are shared under briefing once the export-control position for your market is confirmed.
Related capabilities
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Software-defined Radios: questions
What are Software-defined Radios?
Software-defined Radios are Unstrat's Land (Land Domain) capability: Software-defined HF transceivers built on a hybrid SDR architecture: 24-bit conversion behind crystal roofing filters, with fully electronic switching and embedded compute. Open-source hardware and software that adapts mode and band in the field rather than the procurement cycle.
How do Software-defined Radios work?
Software-defined Radios deliver their effect through Hybrid SDR architecture: 24-bit conversion behind a passive front-end and crystal roofing filters (8-crystal SSB filter), Full HF coverage from 3 to 30 MHz (80 m to 10 m bands) with output stages from 4 W portable to 25 W integrated and Voice and digital modes on the radio itself, SSB, CW, AM, FT8, RTTY, PSK31 and FreeDV, with no external computer required, capabilities matched to the requirement and confirmed under briefing rather than published.
Who makes Software-defined Radios?
Software-defined Radios are built by The Secure Radio Manufacturer, whose focus is software-defined radios & secure communications. Unstrat represents The Secure Radio Manufacturer to government and enterprise buyers worldwide as an independent, non-aligned prime vendor.
Who uses Software-defined Radios?
Government and enterprise buyers acquire Software-defined Radios to address border surveillance, counter-terrorism, vip & event protection, communications interception, contested & denied communications, remote-area operations and communications failure after disasters across the land domain, matched to the mission and accountable to them, not to a foreign vendor's government.
Why choose Software-defined Radios over a major-power alternative?
Software-defined Radios are sourced from an independent, non-aligned manufacturer, so they carry no major-power disclosure rules, upgrade-locks or political ramifications. Concretely: Open-source, field-updatable radios instead of procurement-locked hardware. The capability is accountable to you, not to a foreign vendor's government and its release schedule.
How are Software-defined Radios procured, and where can it be exported?
Communications that evolve with the threat in the field, free of the upgrade-lock that major-power radios impose. Every engagement begins with a briefing, and export eligibility is confirmed per market under briefing rather than published. Where controlled capabilities are involved, the classification and end-user-certificate chain is confirmed first. Software-defined Radios are then sustained in-region by one accountable team from briefing through long-term operation.
Questions buyers ask
What is a software-defined radio in defence?
A software-defined radio implements waveform, band and encryption in software rather than fixed hardware, so one radio platform can be reconfigured in the field as the mission and the threat change. Because capability lives in software, the fleet is upgraded by update rather than replacement, and the communications backbone evolves at the pace of the threat.
Why does sovereign control of tactical radios matter?
Major-power radios often come with crypto custody and upgrade approval held abroad, and electronic warfare across recent conflicts has shown static communications failing within days. Field-reconfigurable radios under national control answer both pressures: the encryption stays under the buyer's authority and there is no foreign approval gate on future updates.
Software-defined radio or hardware radio for a national force?
A hardware-locked radio ties the fleet to a foreign prime's release schedule, while a software-defined platform evolves by update as the mission changes. The comparison page sets out the trade neutrally; the doctrine argument is that capability living in software lets communications keep pace with the threat rather than the procurement cycle.
See: Software-defined against hardware radiosSoftware-defined radios capability
Tactical radio fleet that can be re-waveformed in the field under national crypto control
That is the core concept: SDRs equip vehicles, command posts and dismounted units with links that adapt to jamming, congestion and changing coalition environments, while key material stays under the buyer's national control. Capability is added by software update, so the fleet answers to the mission rather than a foreign release schedule.
How is a software-defined radio programme structured beyond the hardware?
Radio programmes succeed or fail on integration: platform fit, waveform planning, key management and operator training. We structure the engagement from requirements through fielding, with training and support in-region and no foreign approval gate on future updates. The radio is the easy part; the programme around it is the capability.
Communications that survive sustained electronic attack across a coalition environment
Fixed waveforms fail under sustained electronic attack, which is why field-adaptable waveforms matter for a force operating alongside partners. SDRs adapt to jamming and congestion in the field, and because upgrades ship as software the fleet keeps pace with the threat rather than waiting on a hardware refresh gated abroad.
Radios and satellite links planned as one secure communications backbone
Secure communications is layered: software-defined radios at the tactical edge and satellite links across the theatre, with key management and crypto custody kept national throughout. Planning them together avoids a backbone assembled from foreign-controlled pieces, each carrying its own approval regime.
See: Secure communications capabilityCommunication satellites capability
Upgrading a radio fleet without a hardware replacement cycle every few years
That is the structural advantage of software-defined hardware: the fleet is upgraded by update rather than replacement, so new waveforms and features ship without a fresh procurement. Under national control there is no foreign release schedule gating those updates, which is why the capability evolves with the mission rather than the budget cycle.
Our major-power radios carry upgrade approval held abroad. How does a sovereign SDR programme remove that dependency?
By moving capability into software the buyer controls and keeping crypto custody national. A hardware-locked fleet waits on a foreign prime's release schedule for every improvement; a field-updatable fleet evolves on the buyer's timetable with no foreign approval gate. That is the difference the comparison page draws between the two routes.
Electronic warfare knocked out static communications within days in recent conflicts. What does that mean for how we specify radios?
It means specifying for adaptation rather than a fixed waveform set. Field-reconfigurable radios let the force change waveform, band and encryption as the electronic environment shifts, so the backbone degrades gracefully instead of failing outright. The doctrine argument is that the communications layer is precisely where foreign control is least tolerable, because it is the first thing an adversary attacks.
Who holds the encryption keys and algorithms if we buy tactical radios from a major power?
In the major-power route, key material and algorithms are typically subject to foreign oversight. The sovereign route keeps encryption under the buyer's national control, which is the point of the whole capability: the links that carry command and control should not answer to another government's crypto regime. The site does not publish specific algorithm details here, so require them in the tender.
How does an SDR fleet integrate with a passive-radar or sensor-fusion picture without binding us to one ecosystem?
SDRs are built to integrate into the buyer's existing picture rather than a single-power architecture, which is the same argument that governs emitter-free sensing. Waveform planning and integration are scoped as part of the programme, so the communications layer connects to the national picture-compilation chain instead of locking the force into a foreign ecosystem.
See: Passive radar capabilityOff-grid cybersecurity capability
We are building a national force from scratch. How does secure communications fit alongside the platforms it connects?
No capability functions without communications, so the backbone is planned first, not last. We structure software-defined radios and satellite links as one secure-communications engagement, with sovereign crypto custody and in-region training, so the links reach every vehicle, command post and dismounted unit the force is standing up.
See: Secure communications capabilityDiscuss a national requirement
What performance figures does the site publish for the radios, and what should we require before a tender?
This reference page describes the capability and its doctrine rather than device-level range, band or power figures, so any number quoted without a requirement set is guesswork. The practical step is to write waveform, band, key-management and endurance requirements into the tender, then require evidence against them. We scope integration and training around whatever the requirement turns out to be.
See: Software-defined radios capabilityThe evidence we stand behind
If our relationship with a supplier's government cools, what happens to a radio fleet whose updates they approve?
A hardware-locked fleet gated by a foreign prime's release schedule can stall precisely when the force most needs to adapt. Sovereign control of updates and crypto keeps the fleet evolving on the buyer's timetable regardless of the political weather. That resilience is the reason field-reconfigurable radios under national control are treated as a strategic capability rather than a procurement.