Internet Protocol over Link-16

The purpose of Link-16 is to exchange real-time tactical data among units of the United States and allied forces. Primary Link-16 functions include exchange of friendly unit position and status data, the dissemination of tactical surveillance track data, and the control/management of air, surface, and subsurface engagements. Because Link-16 will play an integral part in the network-centric Joint Battlespace Infosphere (JBI), the performance of Internet Protocol version six (IPv6) and IP Security (IPSec) over Link-16 needs to be determined. IP packets also afford additional security measures within the JBI. Using OPNET modeling software to simulate a Link-16 network, the investigation of this research revealed that the overhead from IPv6 and IPSec does not significantly affect end-to-end delay and effective throughput of the Link-16 network. As long as the encryption and authentication protocols are preprocessed, these protocols add minimal amounts of latency overhead to the Link-16 network. However, as the offered load is extended beyond the 90 % level, the overhead from the IPSec extensions begins to have more of a negative effect on the End-to-End delay and throughput.