Sarah Eggleton

There’s not long to go now until one of the year’s most anticipated telecommunications training events gets underway!

The upcoming USTTI programme on Practical Applications of Spectrum Monitoring and Management is set to bring together professionals from across the globe for a focused, hands-on learning experience.

Taking place from May 4–8, 2026, at TCI’s headquarters in Fremont, California, this intensive course offers a unique opportunity to deepen technical knowledge and gain real-world insight into modern spectrum practices.

Participants can expect a dynamic blend of learning formats, including in-depth instruction led by industry specialists, interactive demonstrations using advanced monitoring systems, and practical exercises inside a cutting-edge operational environment. The programme is designed to bridge theory and application, giving attendees the tools they can immediately apply in their own regulatory, operational, or engineering roles.

Whether you’re working in spectrum monitoring and management, enforcement, or deploying new communications technologies, this training is tailored to strengthen your capabilities and expand your understanding of current global standards and tools.

With the countdown underway, we look forward to welcoming you to our collaborative, internationally focused learning experience. Follow us on LinkedIn to receive live updates during this exciting event at: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tciinternational or https://www.linkedin.com/company/spx-communication-technologies

🚨 Registration is officially OPEN for our USTTI Training Event: Practical Applications of Spectrum Monitoring and Management

📅 May 4–8, 2026
📍 TCI Headquarters | Fremont, California, USA

With less than 30 days to go, this is your opportunity to join engineers, regulators, and spectrum monitoring and management professionals from around the world for an immersive week of:

✅ Expert‑led classroom instruction
✅ Live equipment demonstrations
✅ Hands‑on training at TCI’s state‑of‑the‑art facility

💡 Whether your focus is spectrum monitoring, regulatory enforcement, or technology deployment, this course is designed to enhance your skills and introduce you to modern, globally used telecommunications equipment and techniques.

👉 Secure your spot today:
https://ustti.org/course/practical-applications-of-spectrum-monitoring-and-management/

In today’s operational environment, information dominance is inseparable from electromagnetic spectrum control. Across air, land, maritime, space, and cyberspace, defence and security forces rely on secure, uninterrupted access to Radio Frequency (RF) communications to achieve mission success.

Yet the electromagnetic spectrum is increasingly congested, contested, and weaponised. State adversaries deploy sophisticated electronic warfare (EW) systems, while non-state actors exploit low-cost radios, mobile networks, and uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) to communicate, coordinate, and threaten operations.

Against this backdrop, Communications Intelligence (COMINT) has become a critical force multiplier. The ability to detect, identify, track, and analyze RF emissions quickly and accurately, now underpins operational effectiveness across every domain.

The Evolving Electronic Warfare Environment

The modern electronic battlespace is more complex than ever. The proliferation of software-defined radios (SDRs), commercial communications technologies, and rapidly deployable transmitters means that almost any actor can generate RF activity.

Even lightly equipped insurgent groups depend on phones, handheld radios, and ad-hoc networks. To maintain tactical and strategic advantage, modern forces must be able to detect and interpret every signal, even in spectrum-denied or highly cluttered environments.

Traditional wideband receivers often struggled to balance bandwidth, sensitivity, and agility. Monitoring a wide section of the spectrum could come at the cost of precision, while narrowband focus improved accuracy but risked missing emerging threats. As operational demands shift between counter-terrorism, hybrid conflict, and large-scale peer engagements, legacy COMINT systems frequently lack the flexibility required for modern missions.

Next-Generation COMINT: The SPX 955 and 957 RF Collection Systems

To meet these challenges, SPX Communication Technologies has developed the 955 and 957 RF COMINT collection systems – a next-generation family of solutions engineered specifically for defence, intelligence, and security operations.

Designed for continuous, real-time signal collection, the 955 and 957 deliver enhanced situational awareness and faster decision-making across complex electromagnetic environments. Each system integrates receiver, antenna, and advanced processing software, enabling both standalone and networked COMINT operations.

Whether deployed as portable assets, vehicle-mounted systems, or part of a multi-sensor architecture, the 955 and 957 provide forces with the tactical edge required to operate confidently in contested spectrum environments.

Wideband Coverage Without Blind Spots

A defining capability of the 955 and 957 is their ability to monitor up to 80 MHz of spectrum simultaneously. This wideband coverage allows operators to maintain comprehensive awareness of the RF environment, even amid dense signal activity and interference.

When required, operators can dynamically narrow focus to specific frequencies or emitters, extracting high-resolution intelligence from signals of interest. This balance between broad surveillance and precise analysis ensures no critical emissions go undetected while maintaining the depth needed for actionable intelligence.

Look-Back Recording for Deeper Intelligence Insight

Modern intelligence operations demand more than real-time awareness. The 955 and 957 feature a 72-hour look-back recording capability, allowing teams to rewind and analyse historical RF activity once new context or intelligence emerges.

Operators can determine where a signal originated, how it moved, how long it persisted, and how it fits into broader operational patterns. Beyond the immediate look-back window, a long-term database preserves signal metadata for trend analysis, investigations, and future mission planning, providing a richer, more complete intelligence picture.

Mission Agility Across Modern Conflict Scenarios

Contemporary conflict rarely fits a single operational model. Conventional warfare, irregular tactics, special operations, and cyber activity often occur simultaneously. The 955 and 957 are designed for this reality.

Pre-loaded mission profiles allow operators to switch roles instantly, supporting everything from monitoring insurgent communications to tracking conventional military formations. This flexibility ensures COMINT assets remain relevant and effective as mission priorities evolve.

Centralised and Decentralised COMINT Operations

Operational effectiveness depends on adaptable command and control. The 955 and 957 support both decentralised frontline operations and centralised intelligence analysis.

The intuitive Blackbird user interface reduces training requirements, enabling operators to become proficient quickly and expanding the available pool of COMINT personnel. Frontline teams can analyse signals independently, while data can also be transmitted back to command centres for broader situational oversight.

Designed to operate over low-latency and constrained bandwidth, the systems ensure continuity of operations even in degraded network conditions. Multiple users can access shared datasets concurrently, each focused on different objectives or areas of interest.

Hybrid Geolocation for Faster, More Accurate Targeting

Accurate emitter location is critical to spectrum dominance. The 955 and 957 employ hybrid geolocation, combining rapid angle-of-arrival techniques with more precise location refinement methods.

This approach allows operators to quickly identify likely emitters, then apply higher-precision analysis as required – all within a single, integrated system. The result is faster targeting with fewer assets and reduced operational complexity.

Seamless Integration and Counter-UAS Capability

The 955 and 957 are fully backwards compatible with existing antennas and infrastructure, including third-party hardware. This allows defence organisations to upgrade processing capabilities while retaining proven assets, maximising return on investment.

The systems also integrate seamlessly with SPX Communication Technologies’ BLACKTALON™ Counter-UAS ecosystem. By combining COMINT and RF sensing with advanced counter-drone capabilities, operators can detect, identify, locate, and neutralise UAS threats based on their RF emissions.

BLACKTALON effectively disrupts GNSS, command, control, and telemetry links used by both commercial and military drones, while safeguarding friendly communications, ensuring airspace dominance in an increasingly congested UAS threat environment.

Achieving Spectrum Dominance with SPX Communication Technologies

Electronic warfare and communications intelligence now shape the tempo of modern operations. The ability to sense, understand, and dominate the electromagnetic spectrum defines mission success.

With the 955 and 957 RF COMINT systems, SPX Communication Technologies delivers faster detection, deeper insight, and decisive operational advantage – empowering defence, intelligence, and security forces to stay ahead in today’s contested battlespace.

Find out how SPX Communication Technologies can support your mission and help you command the spectrum.

The global drone threat is escalating. Once confined to the battlefield, drones and uncrewed air systems (UAS) are now being deployed for sabotage, espionage, smuggling, and disruption across civilian and critical infrastructure domains. Whether interfering with air traffic, conducting hostile surveillance, or creating panic at large-scale events, malicious drone activity poses a growing challenge for governments, defense forces, and public safety authorities worldwide.

A Growing Threat Across Borders

Recent incidents underline the urgency of effective Counter-UAS technology. In the UK, RAF bases and major sporting venues have faced unauthorized drone incursions. At Twickenham Stadium, a drone carrying a political message highlighted the potential for disruption at mass gatherings. In prisons across England and Wales, drone-related incidents surged by 43% in a single year, as criminals exploited technology to bypass security.

Elsewhere in Europe, drone activity has disrupted air travel at Sofia International Airport, raised espionage concerns near critical energy infrastructure in Finland, and forced Romania and Poland to introduce new legislation empowering authorities to disable hostile drones. These incidents reflect a wider reality: drones are inexpensive, widely available, and increasingly difficult to monitor or intercept.

The Role of Counter-UAS Technology

As drones become faster, more mobile, and more advanced, the demand for robust Counter-UAS solutions has never been higher. At SPX Communication Technologies, we are seeing an 80% increase in enquiries across Europe as organisations seek proven, reliable defences.

Our BLACKTALON solution is at the forefront of RF countermeasure technology, detecting, tracking, and neutralising drones by jamming combinations of GNSS, command, control, and telemetry signals. This ensures a decisive response to both commercial and military-grade drones, while safeguarding friendly RF signals.

Counter-UAS solutions must adapt to a wide range of scenarios:

• Critical infrastructure protection – airports, energy facilities, and ports
• National defence – military installations and border security
• Public safety – stadiums, city centres, and large gatherings

Flexibility is key. Effective systems must provide both fixed-site coverage and mobile deployment options, enabling rapid response wherever the threat emerges.

The Importance of Proven Solutions

While new drone defence technologies continue to flood the market, not all solutions are created equal. Authorities face a dilemma: invest in proven, field-tested systems or risk cheaper, unverified alternatives that may fail under pressure. With decades of expertise in RF technology, SPX Communication Technologies delivers trusted, mission-critical solutions that consistently perform in complex operational environments.

Legislative Support Driving Change

Governments across Europe are strengthening legal frameworks to counter the UAS threat. From empowering military and law enforcement personnel to engage hostile drones, to recognising RF jamming as a verified and safe countermeasure, legislative changes are enabling more agile, coordinated defence strategies.

Looking Ahead

As the drone threat continues to evolve, so too must Counter-UAS technology. SPX Communication Technologies is investing in next-generation jamming solutions with greater range, spectral purity, and adaptability. Our commitment is to ensure governments, defence organisations, and public safety authorities are always one step ahead of malicious actors.

Reliable Counter-UAS solutions are no longer optional – they are essential. From protecting national infrastructure to safeguarding public events, proven RF inhibition technology like BLACKTALON is mission critical for countering today’s expanding drone threat.

Contact us for more information!

Wappenham, UK – September 2025 – TCI, part of SPX Communication Technologies, has announced the launch of two advanced Rackmount COMINT RF systems designed to give defense and security forces a decisive edge in today’s complex electronic warfare environment. The new 955 Rackmount RF COMINT and Geolocation System and the 957 Rackmount RF COMINT and Independent Geolocation System were recently unveiled at DSEI 2025.

Meeting the Demands of Modern Spectrum Warfare

Electronic warfare increasingly relies on mastering congested and contested radio frequency (RF) spectrum environments. TCI’s new systems deliver continuous, real-time communications intelligence (COMINT) collection, enabling forces to detect, filter, and geolocate RF communication signals with unmatched speed and accuracy.

Key capabilities include:

• 80 MHz Instantaneous Bandwidth – twice that of the previous generation, supporting wide-area surveillance or highly sensitive, focused collection.
• Dual Geolocation Techniques (AOA + TDOA) – providing precise location data with fewer assets, even across limited or disrupted networks.
• 72-hour Look-back Recording – allowing operators to analyze past spectrum activity for threat validation, intelligence gathering, and persistent monitoring.

Built for Operational Agility

The rugged, rack-mounted design allows deployment across vehicles, fixed installations, or forward operating positions. Both the 955 and 957 offer mission flexibility:

• 955 System – optimized for single-unit, vehicle-mounted, or standalone operations.
• 957 System – delivers enhanced processing power for simultaneous, independent missions and networked, multi-sensor geolocation across dispersed teams.

This flexibility supports a wide range of applications, including:

• Counter-terrorism
• Border security
• Front-line military operations
• Persistent intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR)

Enhanced Force Effectiveness with Blackbird Software

Both systems are powered by TCI’s Blackbird software, already in operational use on nearly 1,000 frontline systems worldwide. Blackbird’s intuitive interface reduces operator training time and expands the pool of personnel capable of conducting effective COMINT missions. It also enables remote operation, keeping highly skilled personnel safer while maintaining mission effectiveness.

Seamless Integration into Electronic Warfare Architectures

Building on the combat-proven legacy of the 953 RF receiver, the new 955 and 957 maintain backward compatibility with existing SPX Communications Technologies and partner systems, including the BLACKTALON counter-unmanned aerial system (C-UAS) solution. This ensures scalable integration into broader electronic warfare (EW) architectures.

Designed for the Spectrum Battlefield

As David Beckett, Battlespace Business Development Director at TCI, explains:

“Today, electronic warfare is at the heart of all defence operations, and mastering the spectrum is now as critical as controlling the air. Our new systems give defence teams the decisive intelligence they need to succeed.”

Both systems are now available to purchase – for further information please contact us.

We are delighted to announce that TCI and ECS, part of SPX Communication Technologies, will be showcasing cutting-edge COMINT and Counter-UAS solutions at EW Live!

As global leaders in advanced defense and security technologies, we’ll be showcasing an impressive portfolio including two brand new Rackmount RF COMINT Systems designed to empower mission success in the most challenging environments.

Visitors to Stand 28 will experience our latest capabilities in:

🔷 HFDF (High Frequency Direction Finding) – Proven solutions for signal intelligence and situational awareness.

🔷 C-UAS (Counter Unmanned Aerial Systems) – The BLACKTALON Ecosystem uses innovative technologies to detect, track, and defeat drone threats.

🔷COMINT (Communications Intelligence) – Deployable in several form factors, advanced systems for intercepting and analyzing communications.

📍Join us at Stand 28 from 23-26 September at EW Live to explore how we are shaping the future of defense.