Mutualink will play a central role during the Joint Users Interoperability Communications Exercise (JUICE) taking place June 3-28 at the Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG), Maryland.

During JUICE, the U.S. Department of Defense (U.S. DoD) will deploy Mutualink as the communications backbone for interoperability testing and concept of operations (CONOP) support across the joint U.S. forces and coalition partner nations.

Mutualink will enable secure voice, full-motion video and information sharing among joint and coalition partner organizations and networks on a global, real-time basis. With Mutualink, an anytime, anywhere operations fusion capability is enabled, allowing partners to connect and collaborate - as and when needed - in a sovereign, secure manner.

Partners can selectively share intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) and communicate as circumstances dictate or require, creating enhanced joint situation awareness in a way never before achievable. Mutualink uses an innovative peer network with no central switch architecture, eliminating security issues and the requirement for national resources to be controlled by a trusted third party.

JUICE is an annual U.S. DoD worldwide exercise hosted by the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command (CECOM) and sponsored by the U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM).

The focus of JUICE is joint communications interoperability across the U.S. DoD and with allied and coalition partners, along with civil affairs agencies and industry partners. Mutualink's Washington DC-based Defense Services Division (DSD) is working closely with all parties involved with JUICE to prepare for Mutualink's significant role throughout the exercises.

"JUICE is a premier venue within which Mutualink's capabilities will be validated by the DoD. There is great interest in Mutualink because it fills key operational capability gaps and also provides an array of additional capabilities at an affordable cost point," said Joe Mazzarella, Senior Vice President, Mutualink.

"Our platform is not only suited for coalition interoperability. It also addresses defense-to-civilian-agency collaboration barriers in a variety of contexts ranging from cross border enforcement, humanitarian and disaster relief, and multinational law enforcement efforts."

Throughout the JUICE exercises, Mutualink will enable seamless and sovereign interoperable communications for U.S. Army, Air Force and Marine Corps units, National Guard units, NATO Special Operations, partner nations' defense units and civil public safety authorities.

Mutualink will also be demonstrating a range of capabilities that fill key operational performance gaps, as well as innovative, future-concept technologies. The company will issue a series of announcements during the month-long JUICE exercise, providing additional details about these key capabilities:

+ Global Secure Emergency Collaboration (GSEC) Network will connect up to 20 locations worldwide, including the State of Rio Brazil Emergency Operations Center, which has deployed Mutualink in preparation for the World Cup and Olympics

+ Lateral Link communications among Army, Marine Corps, and NATO participants

+ Integration of new 4G/LTE technology to enhance tactical edge operations in austere conditions

+ Cross-domain transport of Mutualink traffic leveraging JOIN

+ Free Space Optical (FSO) communications for jamb-resistant field data transport

+ Voice recognition-enabled radio to telephone bridging

+ Seamless radio bridging between air and ground elements for close air support (CAS)

+ Real-time sharing of soldier and field personnel helmet cam video and voice communications.

Mutualink's new Global Secure Emergency Collaboration (GSEC) Network will be widely utilized during the JUICE exercises. GSEC is a secure global interoperability network that serves as a collaboration backbone for international response and situational awareness of incidents that may occur at large, multi-national events.

Throughout JUICE, Mutualink will have up to 20 "always ready" connected sites worldwide to collaborate and share multimedia information securely.

JUICE deployment locations include US military bases and entities, as well as sites in Brazil, Colombia, South Africa, and the 28 Nations of NATO via deployments in NATO Special Operations installations in Belgium.