[FedCom] Encryption and Aircraft Radios (was: Questions)

[Chris Parris]

I think the original question could have been;

Why do we often hear federal operations that have the ground units all
running encryption, but the aircraft flying above with the aerial
observer is in the clear?

I have often heard such operations, and still do occasionally. I
originally thought that the aircraft radios simply didn't have
encryption available, as they were probably not the same model radios as
we find in mobile situations on the ground. And I didn't think they
normally just jumped in a plane or helicopter with a hand-held radio...

I'm sure as the aircraft radios get upgraded, digital encryption will be
available. But as we have discussed earlier, things still show up in the
clear for no obvious reasons...

--

Chris Parris
Beaverton, OR
cparris2@compuserve.com