FREQUENTIS USA completes voice switch modernization for the US Army in Fort Rucker Alabama

Frequentis has been replacing legacy voice communications systems for the US Army with Next Generation solutions since 2015, as a key agency partner on the Interim Voice Switch Replacement (IVSR) contract with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Over 45 army sites have been completed to-date under the multi-year contract, with the largest installation for Fort Rucker Cairns Airfield Air Traffic Control Tower (ATCT) and Cairns Army Radar Approach Control (ARAC). The installation, test and deployment strategy enabled zero downtime and transparent system replacement to operational users.

Fort Rucker, the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence, is the Army Aviation Branch's training and development center, located in Alabama and serves as the primary flight training base for Army Aviation officers and soldiers, along with hosting the Army Air Traffic Control school.
The modernization included replacement of Small Tower Voice Switch (STVS) systems at sixteen stage fields, and five Enhanced Terminal Voice Switch (ETVS) systems at four base fields, two of which of were located at Cairns Army Airfield.

The IVSR system for Cairns ARAC was the largest Army facility to be modernized, consisting of 34 positions, 53 air-ground radios, and 58 ground-ground telecommunications lines. This was also the most demanding of all army installations to-date, due to the nature of the site which allowed for no interruption to operational service during the transition. The installation, test and deployment strategy ensured this was a success.

“We are extremely pleased that controllers in the Cairns ARAC and Hub were able to go to work with all IVSR positions installed and 100% of the radios and phones working and that there was no impact to operations during the entire four-week installation. A huge thanks to all involved in the project, for the long hours, patience, ingenuity required at some locations and most of all for your professionalism!”, said Lyle Voyles, Program Integrator, Fixed Base ATC Equipment Product Manager, Air Traffic Control (PM ATC) and Michael W. Bateman PdM Air Traffic Control APM Fixed Base ATC.

Frequentis VCS3020 is the only voice communications system (VCS) currently on the market that is certified for operation in the National Airspace System (NAS). A total of 161 systems have been installed to date under the FAA IVSR contract, providing award-winning VCS solutions for the FAA partner, providing complete system production, test, installation, cutover and maintenance support.

Frequentis USA continues to support the FAA with additional IVSR systems at both FAA and the Department of Defense air traffic control terminal facilities as part of its longstanding commitment to providing reliable and safe edge-technology systems and logistics support. 

“This was a demanding and important project for the US Army and we are pleased to have been able to successfully complete it in the required timeframe and without any service interruption to Cairns ARAC. We look forward to completing the remaining IVSR installations for the US Army, supporting the mission of training Aviation Officers and pilots while modernizing the ATC communication at all army bases.” says Leonard Swiontek, President of Frequentis USA, Incorporated.

At its headquarters in Columbia, Maryland, Frequentis USA, Inc. designs, builds, integrates and provides round the clock support for communications systems, ATC legal recording, and information systems for the FAA, NASA, the Department of Defense, and Public Safety organizations in state and local governments. Frequentis’ IVSR systems incorporate a future-proof design including Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) networking technology, using the latest Air Traffic Control specification ED-137 for IP-based air ground radio voice communications, as well as unmanned aircraft system (UAS) operation based on the latest requirements