Doctrinal points of interest covering antennas, the propagation of radio waves, and high frequency radio technology in the employment of communications during jungle operations in the information age

Abstract

The hypotheses of employment in the Amazon have in common the need to operate in the ubiquitous jungle biome. One of the main obstacles to the operations in this scenario is the difficulty of communications, very dependent on HF or satellite radio. In this work, the main goal was to discuss potential knowledge of interest to the doctrine in order to help updating the current publications relating to the use of HF radio communications in jungle operations. For this purpose, the procedures adopted in practice by the military organizations more directly involved with operations in the jungle were identified and analyzed. Moreover, some relevant technical concepts were presented and discussed, taking into account the state of the technique of the current generation radios as well as the state of the art relating to antennas and modeling of wave propagation in forests. Besides the complementary knowledge of potential interest to the doctrine discussed in this work, another result that stands out is the confirmation of the hypothesis that the related current doctrine is outdated. Finally, it was also corroborated that communication by HF radio is still perceived as essential to operations in the jungle, even when satellite communication is available.