How to Improve Communication in Contested Environments

Contested environments are spaces where adversarial forces, infrastructure limitations, harsh physical terrain or deliberate interference degrade or disrupt teams’ ability to exchange information effectively. Whether you serve in a military unit operating beyond secure networks, respond to natural disasters or manage distributed teams in remote areas, improving communication in contested environments is foundational to mission success.

What Defines a Contested Environment?

A contested environment occurs when reliable communication is challenged by factors including:

• Electromagnetic interference and jamming from adversaries or unintended sources
• Limited or compromised infrastructure, such as damaged networks or remote locations
• Physical terrain obstacles, including mountains, dense foliage or urban canyons
• Congested spectrum environments where bandwidth is scarce or overloaded
• Rapidly changing operational conditions requiring dynamic adaptability

These conditions affect the ability of units and teams to maintain situational awareness, coordinate effectively and act with confidence. Traditional communication systems, such as fixed radio networks or cell towers, struggle when infrastructure is degraded or when opponents actively seek to disrupt signals.

Why Improving Communication Matters

Effective communication in contested environments is essential for maintaining coordination across dispersed teams and ensuring that critical information reaches the right people at the right time. When communication systems remain reliable, teams can make real-time decisions, respond to rapidly changing conditions and maintain situational awareness even under challenging circumstances.

Strong communication capabilities also enhance adaptability and operational resilience. By anticipating disruptions and leveraging robust technologies, organizations reduce delays, prevent errors and ensure that missions progress smoothly regardless of environmental or adversarial obstacles.

Core Challenges in Contested Communication

Understanding the challenges you face in contested environments brings clarity to potential solutions. Major obstacles include:

• Electromagnetic interference and jamming: Signals can be disrupted by adversaries or environmental factors, reducing clarity and reliability.
• Infrastructure degradation: Damaged or limited networks can prevent consistent communication and delay information flow.
• Bandwidth scarcity: High demand for data from multiple sources can strain available spectrum and degrade performance.
• Physical and environmental obstacles: Terrain, urban structures, dense foliage, and weather conditions can weaken or block signals.

7 Methods to Improve Communication in Contested Environments

To improve communication in contested settings, organizations combine technological innovation, adaptive systems and robust operational approaches.

1. Mesh Networking and Adaptive Routing

Mesh networks connect multiple nodes — such as radios or mobile devices — in a fluid topology where communication paths dynamically reroute around failure points or interference. This approach provides redundancy and resilience, enabling communication even if some nodes or links degrade. Adaptive routing selects optimal paths in real time to maintain connectivity and performance.

2. Software‑Defined Radio

Software‑defined radio (SDR) systems allow you to reconfigure signal characteristics on the fly, switching frequencies, modulations and protocols to avoid interference or adapt to contested spectrum conditions. SDR platforms achieve flexibility that static, hardware‑bound radios cannot, making them a powerful tool in dynamic environments.

3. Integrated Multi‑Band Systems

Using radios and transceivers capable of operating across multiple frequency bands — including ultra-high frequency, very high frequency and satellite bands — enables continuous communication across different links. When one band is compromised, another can maintain connectivity. This flexibility allows teams to adapt rapidly to changing conditions and ensures critical information reaches all nodes without interruption.

4. Directional Signal and Beamforming Techniques

Directional antennas and beamforming focus energy toward specific receivers. This results in stronger signal integrity over longer distances and reduced susceptibility to ambient interference or intentional jamming. By concentrating signals where they are most needed, these techniques also optimize power efficiency and minimize signal leakage that adversaries could exploit.

5. Hardened and Encrypted Communications

Robust encryption and anti‑jamming technologies protect communication content and accessibility, creating secure channels that remain usable even under hostile conditions. Encryption prevents eavesdropping and unauthorized access, while anti‑jamming countermeasures maintain operational continuity.

6. Redundant and Hybrid Systems

Combining multiple communication channels — such as radio, satellite, cellular and ad‑hoc networks — increases resilience. If one channel is disrupted, hybrid systems can automatically reroute traffic to alternate links. This approach ensures teams stay connected during critical operations, allowing coordinated action and reducing delays caused by network failures.

7. Autonomous Network Health Monitoring

Integrated network intelligence and monitoring tools help you assess real‑time link quality and predict potential failures. These capabilities enable proactive measures and automatic reconfiguration for continued performance. Operators gain visibility into weak points before they escalate, which strengthens overall network reliability and confidence in mission execution.

Top Companies Helping Improve Communication in Contested Environments

Several leading technology companies provide solutions for improving communication under contested and highly challenging conditions.

Silvus Technologies

Silvus Technologies develops advanced Mobile-Networked MIMO wireless systems designed for mission-critical operations in contested and challenging environments. Founded in 2004, it creates high-performance mesh networking radios capable of delivering long-range, non-line-of-sight communications with exceptional throughput, robustness and resistance to interference. Its StreamCaster MANET radios provide secure, high-fidelity video, voice and data connectivity that adapts dynamically to changing conditions.

Through continuous research and government-funded development, Silvus Technologies drives innovations in software-defined radios, scalable mesh networks and anti-jamming technologies. Its solutions support military, law enforcement, airborne, maritime and commercial operations, enabling seamless communication even under extreme network stress. With advanced encryption and compliance with U.S. Department of Defense standards, Silvus Technologies ensures reliable and secure communication at the tactical edge.

L3Harris

L3Harris provides secure, interoperable communication systems built to operate seamlessly across land, sea, air, space and cyber domains. Since its formation in 2019, it has equipped militaries and allied forces with networks that maintain connectivity in complex, contested and congested environments. Its technologies enable real-time situational awareness and rapid reconfiguration to support evolving mission demands.

By combining field-ready platforms with NATO standards-compliant interoperability, L3Harris ensures allied forces can communicate instantly and coordinate effectively. Its solutions emphasize resilience, spectrum efficiency and operational continuity, supporting military, government and cross-border collaborations where reliable communication is essential.

Thales

Thales designs integrated communication and electronic warfare systems that secure reliable, high-performance connectivity in contested environments. Since its founding over a century ago, it has specialized in enabling air, land, sea and cyber operations with real-time, encrypted voice and data transmission. Its platforms support networked battlefields, counter-jamming operations and rapid information sharing across multiple domains, ensuring operational control even under high-intensity conditions.

The brand supports seamless collaboration, operational sovereignty and resilient situational awareness across multiple domains. Its systems provide electromagnetic spectrum dominance, secure allied communications and agile reconfiguration capabilities, ensuring that mission-critical operations continue uninterrupted, wherever and whenever required.

Building Resilient Communication Systems

Improving communication in contested environments requires combining innovative technology with strategic operational planning. By adopting adaptive networking, software‑defined radios, multi‑band and hybrid systems, and robust encryption, teams achieve reliable, secure and resilient communication under challenging conditions.

Partnering with experienced providers ensures access to cutting‑edge solutions that maintain connectivity, enhance situational awareness and empower mission success. Consistent investment in resilient systems positions your organization to thrive in contested environments and respond effectively when communication matters most.