Allied Command Europe Highband, better known as ACE High, was a fixed service

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

radiocommunication Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connected ...

and

early warning An early warning system is a warning system that can be implemented as a Poset, chain of information communication systems and comprises sensors, Detection theory, event detection and decision support system, decision subsystems for early identi ...

system dating back to 1956. After extensive testing ACE High was accepted by NATO to become operational in 1964/1965. The frequency supportability and

frequency assignment Frequency assignment is the authorization of use of a particular radio frequency. In Article 1.18 of the International Telecommunication Union's (ITU) Radio Regulations (RR),ITU Radio Regulations, Section IV. Radio Stations and Systems – Art ...

s were provided in accordance with the NATO Joint Civil/Military Frequency Agreement (NJFA). The system was designed to be a combined

UHF Ultra high frequency (UHF) is the ITU designation for radio frequencies in the range between 300 megahertz (MHz) and 3 gigahertz (GHz), also known as the decimetre band as the wavelengths range from one meter to one tenth of a meter ...

troposcatter/

microwave Microwave is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths shorter than other radio waves but longer than infrared waves. Its wavelength ranges from about one meter to one millimeter, corresponding to frequency, frequencies between 300&n ...

radio system, providing long-range communications in the form of

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telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...

and data traffic in the NATO chain of command. Its combined services produced over 200 channels and equipment was in place to multiplex them to contain up to 12 different calls each. There used to be 49 troposcatter links augmented by 40 ''line-of-sight'' Microwave terrestrial stations, located in nine different NATO countries from northern

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

through central Europe to eastern

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. The transmitters broadcast at 832.56 - 959.28 MHz producing an average transmitting power of 10

kilowatt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantification (science), quantify the rate of Work ...

History

was established in 1949 with a supreme command (SHAPE) near

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, France, and the regional headquarters (RHQ) Allied Forces Northern Europe (AFNORTH) at Kolsås, Norway (responsible for Denmark, Norway and the UK), Allied Forces Central Europe (AFCENT) at Laffaux,

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

(responsible for Belgium, France, Germany and the Netherlands) and Allied Forces Southern Europe (AFSOUTH) at

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, Italy (responsible for Italy, Greece and Turkey). Supreme command, the three RHQ's and all subordinate units used various communication systems to establish contact:

high frequency High frequency (HF) is the ITU designation for the band of radio waves with frequency between 3 and 30 megahertz (MHz). It is also known as the decameter band or decameter wave as its wavelengths range from one to ten decameters (ten to one ...

radio networks, VHF transmitters and civil or military landlines. All systems had their weakness in equipment reliability, maximum amount of data transferred, encryption possibilities and unauthorized data interception. So in the early 1950s, there existed an urgent need for a reliable, foolproof, long distance European communication network. US developed tropospheric diffusion techniques, integrated in a new military communications network, appeared to be the solution and in 1956 STC, a planning, design, engineering and installation company was ordered to develop a new integrated communications network in Europe. This network consisted of a number of "backbone" stations covering a path from northern Norway to southern Turkey and was initially called the "Over the Horizon Troposperic scatter Communications Net," but was renamed "Allied Command Europe - Highband" (ACE-High). The network was kept operational until the 1990s when all frequency allocations had to be released to civilian authorities. After all components were installed at their locations by

Marconi Electronic Systems Marconi Electronic Systems Limited (MES), or GEC-Marconi as it was until 1998, was the defence arm of General Electric Company (GEC). It was split off from GEC and bought by British Aerospace (BAe) on 30 November 1999 to form BAE Systems. GEC ...

, UK in 1961, (from 1968, part of

General Electric Company The General Electric Company (GEC) was a major British industrial conglomerate involved in consumer and Arms industry, defence electronics, communications, and engineering. It was originally founded in 1886 as G. Binswanger and Company as an e ...

) the ACE-High system was officially transferred to NATO. In 1966, France, under president

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...

, withdrew from NATO integrated military structure (not from the Alliance itself) and systems had to be rerouted from France to Brunssum, Netherlands while the former Primary Control Center at

Beauvais Beauvais ( , ; ) is a town and Communes of France, commune in northern France, and prefecture of the Oise Departments of France, département, in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, north of Paris. The Communes of France, commune o ...

, was relocated to Lamersdorf, West-Germany. In the early 1970s, the first geostationary satellites in the "Satellite Communication" network (SATCOM) were activated, thus expanding the ACE-High system. The rise of the military ''SATCOM I-III'' (1971–1994), ''SATCOM IV'' (1995-now) network satellites, Internet routers, and the Central Region Integrated Communication System (CRICS) and the Crisis Response Operations in NATO Operating Systems (CRONOS) made ACE High obsolete. By the end of the 1980s, its replacement was already available but NATO postponed the ACE High phase-out until 1995. In 1995, the first British NATO SATCOM IV/B satellites were activated and because the ACE-High frequencies had to be released for civil TV and mobile phone usage, NATO decided to deactivate ACE-High in 1996, and the frequencies in the 800 MHz band became available for civilian use again.

ACE High sites

The ACE High network included the following major sites and terminals, but also connected Line of Sight (LOS) microwave links to other networks reaching C2 centres not listed here. ; AFNORTH-Norway *(NC- Senja) > NSEZ Pos TX RX Equipment:1 Scatter Line + 2 Radio Line *(nca - Höggumpen) > NHGZ Pos 502 m TX RX Equipment:1 Radio Line *(ND- Bodö) > NKLZ Pos 801 m TX RX Equipment:2 Scatter Line + 1 Radio Line *(nda - Bodoe Tail - Kletkov) > NVAZ Pos unbekannt TX RX Equipment:1 Radio Line *(NE - Mosjöen) > NMOZ Pos 627 m TX RX Equipment:2 Scatter Line *(NF - Trondheim) > NSBZ Pos 677 m AMSL TX RX Equipment:2 Scatter Line + 1 Radio Line *(nfa - Trondheim Tail - Graakallen) Pos 543 m AMSL TX RX Equipment:1 Radio Line *(NG - Oslo AAA) > NSOZ Pos 246 m TX RX Equipment:2 Scatter Line + 1 Radio Line *(Oslo YYY - Svartas) > NVAZ Pos TX RX Equipment:3 Radio Line *(nga - Oslo Tail 01 - Kolsaas) > NKOZ Pos TX RX Equipment:1 Radio Line *(ngb - Oslo Tail 02 - Maakeroy) > NVEZ Pos 14 m TX RX Equipment:1 Radio Line *(NH - Grimstad - Stormyrheia/hørte) > NSMZ Pos 326 m TX Rx Equipment:3 Scatter Line *(NJ - Sola - Lysenut) > NLYZ Pos 792 m TX RX Equipment:2 Scatter Line ; AFNORTH-Denmark *(DA - Karup - Torphøj) > DTOZ Pos 135 m TX RX Equipment:2 Scatter Line + 1 Radio Line *(daa - Karup Tail - Lundbakke) > DLUZ Pos 68 m TX RX Equipment:1 Radio Line ;AFNORTH-United Kingdom *(EAA - Faroes - Sandfelli 2) *(EA - Shetlands - Mossy Hill) > UMSZ - Mossy Hill > 227 m AMSL *(eab - Shetlands Tail Relay - Collofirth Hill) > UCOZ - Collafirth Hill > 239 m AMSL *(eac - Shetlands Tail - Saxa Vord) USVZ - Saxa Vord 276 m AMSL *(EB -

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

- Mormond Hill) > UMOZ - Mormond Hill 227 m AMSL *(eba - Aberdeen Tail - Long Haven Hill) > UBUZ - Long Haven Hill 95 m AMSL *(EC - Boulmer - Brizlee Wood) > UBOZ - Brizlee Wood 250 m AMSL *(ED - Binbrook - Stenigot) > UBIZ - Stenigot 153 m AMSL *(EE - London - Coldblow Lane) > UMAZ - Coldblow Lane 194 m AMSL *(eeb - London Tail Relay - Woldingham - RAF Botley Hill Farm) *(eea - London tail -

Hillingdon Hillingdon is an area of Uxbridge within the London Borough of Hillingdon, centred 14.2 miles (22.8 km) west of Charing Cross. It was an ancient parish in Middlesex that included the market town of Uxbridge. During the 1920s the civil pari ...

) *

RAF Uxbridge RAF Uxbridge was a Royal Air Force (RAF) station in Uxbridge, within the London Borough of Hillingdon, occupying a site that originally belonged to the Hillingdon House estate. The British Government purchased the estate in 1915, three years b ...

– local terminus ;AFCENT-France * (FAN - Paris - Mont Florentin) FFLZ - Paris North 222 m AMSL * FTAZ - Taverny 178 m AMSL * (fac - Paris Tail (2)- Sant Germain) 71 m AMSL * (fae - Paris Tail (2) - Extension (SHAPE) 178 m AMSL * (fa - Relais Paris - Emeville) FEMZ - Emeville 247 m AMSL * (faa - Paris Tail (1) - Laffaux) 143 m AMSL * (fad - Relay Paris - Rozoy Bellevalle) FRBZ - Rozoy Bellevalle 219 m AMSL * (FAS - Paris - Mont Aout) FAOZ - Paris South 216 m AMSL * (FA - Trier - Rohrbach) FROZ - Rohrbach 376 m AMSL * (fay - Trier Tail - Kindsbach) ABHZ - Kindsbach 458 m AMSL * (FC - Lyon - Pierre sur Haute) FLYZ - Lyon 1632 m AMSL * (FD - Nice - Signal de la Chens) FNIZ - Nice 1703 m AMSL ;AFCENT-Netherlands *HBRZ - Brunssum 95 m AMSL TX equipment 1S + 1R *HMAZ - Maastricht 82 m AMSL TX equipment 1S +2R ;AFCENT-Belgium *BADZ - Adinkerke *BCAZ - Casteau Supreme HQ Allied Powers Europe Pos 87 m AMSL TX Equipment 2S +2R *BCHZ - Chievres Pos TX Equipment 2S +2R *BFRZ - Baraque de Fraiture 654 m AMSL TX Equipment 3R ;AFCENT-Germany *ABHZ - Kindsbach 458 m ü. NN *(AA - Emden - Aurich) AEMZ - Aurich 10 m ü. NN *(AB - Moenchengladbach - Roetgen) ALAZ -Lammersdorf 593 m ü. NN *(abb - Moenchengladbach Tail (1) - Hehn) AHEZ - Hehn 81 m ü. NN *(aba - Moenchengladbach Tail (2) - Millen) 151 m ü. NN *(abc - Uedem) AUEZ - Uedem 47 m ü. NN *AFEZ - Feldberg 1458 m ü. NN ;AFSOUTH-Italy * IDGZ - Dosso dei Galli 2174 m AMSL * IVTZ - Verona Tail ( im West Star Bunker ) 334 m AMSL * (IA - Livorno - Monte Giogo) IMXZ - Livorno 1496 m AMSL * (IAZ - Cavriana - Monte Bosco Scuro) IMBZ - Cavriana 189 m AMSL * (iaa - Verona Torre 4) 164 m AMSL * (IAY - Lame - Cavanella) ICEZ - Lame Concordia 7 m AMSL * (iax - Aviano) IAVZ - Aviano 99 m AMSL * (IB - Rome - Tolfa) ITLZ - Rome 621 m AMSL * (iba - Rome Tail - Monte Cavo) IMCZ - Monte Cavo 930 m AMSL * (IC - Naples - Ischia - Punta Fetto) IICZ - Naples 639 m AMSL * (ica - Naples Tail - Monte Pecorara) IPEZ - Monte Petrino 335 m AMSL * (icy - Monte Vergine) IMNZ - Monte Nardello 1516 m AMSL * (icz - Monte Vulture) IVUZ - Monte Vulture 1301 m AMSL * (icv - Monte Iacontenente) IIAZ - Monte Iacontenente * (icf - Pietra Ficcata) IPFZ - Pietra Ficcata 586 m AMSL * (icw - Martina Franca) IAMZ - Martina Franca * (ID - Catanzaro - Monte Mancuso) IMMZ - Catanzaro 1319 m AMSL * (IDA - Monte Lauro - Cozzo tre Grotte) ICCZ - Monte Lauro 944 m AMSL ; AFSOUTH-Malta * (idb - Malta - Gharghur) IDBZ - Malta - Gharghur ; AFSOUTH-Greece *(GA - Kefallina) > GKFZ - Kefallonia 1001 m AMSL *(GB - Athens - Pendelikon) > GPKZ - Athens 1038 m AMSL *(GBZ - Crete - Ziros) > GZIZ - Ziros 786 m AMSL *(GBY - Larissa - Phillon) > GPIZ - Phillon 1513 m AMSL *(GBW - Vitsi) > GVIZ - Vitzi 2009 m AMSL *(GBV - Ismaros) > GISZ - Ismaros 612 m AMSL ;AFSOUTH-Turkey *(TA - Izmir - Bespinar Tepes) > TBPZ - Izmir - Bespinar Tepes 964 m AMSL *(taa - Izmir Tail) > TKYZ - Izmir Tail *(TB - Eskisehir) > TKUZ - Eskishir - Kutahya Dagi 1820 m AMSL *(tba - Eskirsehir Tail) > TESZ - Eskirsehir Tail *(TC - Ankara) > TEDZ - Ankara - Elan Dagi 1856 m AMSL *(TCK - Merzifon) > TKJZ - Merzifon *(TCW - Persembe) > TPEZ - Persembe *(TCV - Pazar) > TPAZ - Pazar *(TD - Kayseri - Pinarbasi) > TPIZ - Pinarbasi 2285 m AMSL *(TG - Adana) > TDDZ - Davudi Dağı 515 m AMSL *(tga - Adana Tail) > TDAZ - Adana Tail *(TE - Dyarbakir - Karaka Dagi) > TDIZ - Dyarbakir - Karaka Dagi *(tea - Dyarbakir Tail) > TDEZ - Dyarbakir Tail * Bloatli, Turkey ;AFSOUTH-Cyprus *(TCZ - Cap Greco) > JCGZ -Cavo Greko 62 m AMSL ;Equipment usedOperator's, Organizational, Direct Support, General Support, and Depot Maintenance TM's 11-5820-203-15 and 11-5840-401-12 Initially, 60, 30 or 15 ft dish or planar antennas were used in combination with

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston. Over the year ...

RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...

AN/MRC80 TRC24; AN/FRC-75 or 39 radio sets. Later replaced by newer Siemens & Halske EM 120/400 and 12/800 types. The type and beam angle of the antennas depended of the local site position and its distance to the next relay.

References

{{reflist

External links

History and detailsWebsite by Gerrit Padberg and Roger CamperiItalian Website
Telecommunications equipment of the Cold War Military radio systems 1956 introductions NATO installations in the United Kingdom NATO installations in Germany NATO installations in Norway NATO installations in Italy NATO installations in Belgium Cold War military equipment of the United Kingdom 1956 in international relations Highband Tropospheric scatter systems

History

ACE High sites

See also

References

External links