WHCA Roadrunner
Encyclopedia
The White House Communications Agency
Roadrunner Vehicle is an element of every American presidential motorcade
. It is also known as the MC2V (Mobile command and Control Vehicle). The vehicle serves as the communications hub for the motorcade by encrypting duplex radio
and streaming video which in turn is beamed up to a military satellite which in turn beams that data back down to a ground entry point and through to the WHCA switchboard.
The vehicle is a heavily modified Chevrolet Suburban equipped with protective armor, runflat tires, vehicle transponder, and turbocharger. The most obvious feature is a configurable antennae platform mounted on the roof. This contains a large SATCOM dome containing a tracking dish that serves as the data uplink and downlink as the primary communications path for the motorcade. Also on the roof are smaller VHF antennas that serve as a repeater for the other motorcade elements as well as another communications path to local authorities and the onsite WHCA office. VHF antennae configuration changes according to the mission operational requirements. This also serves as the hub for the LCP or Limousine Control Package that allows C2 functions to be performed from USSS control cars, presidential parade limo or presidential suburban. 22 of these vehicles were built by Assurance Technology Corporation in Carlisle MA and developed with NRL (Naval Research Laboratory).
The primary communications path is via the Defense Satellite Communications System
(DSCS) III (U) satellite. There are nine of these satellites currently in orbit, each one providing six super high frequency encrypted data and voice channels and a single channel dedicated for Emergency Action Messages which would be used to direct a nuclear release from the motorcade.
Voice channels are all encrypted, most likely with FASCINATOR
encryption. FASCINATOR is a digital voice encryption standard for the Federal Government. It is based on voice being digitized using 12 kbit/s Continuously Variable Slope Delta modulation (CVSD) and then encrypted using a National Security Agency (NSA) Commercial COMSEC Endorsement Program (CCEP) Type I encryption algorithm.
White House Communications Agency
The White House Communications Agency , originally known as the White House Signal Detachment , was officially formed by the United States Department of War on 25 March 1942 under President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The WHSD was created to provide normal and emergency communications requirements in...
Roadrunner Vehicle is an element of every American presidential motorcade
Motorcade
A motorcade is a procession of vehicles. The term motorcade was coined by Lyle Abbot , and is formed after cavalcade on the false notion that "-cade" was a suffix meaning "procession"...
. It is also known as the MC2V (Mobile command and Control Vehicle). The vehicle serves as the communications hub for the motorcade by encrypting duplex radio
Duplex (telecommunications)
A duplex communication system is a system composed of two connected parties or devices that can communicate with one another in both directions. The term multiplexing is used when describing communication between more than two parties or devices....
and streaming video which in turn is beamed up to a military satellite which in turn beams that data back down to a ground entry point and through to the WHCA switchboard.
The vehicle is a heavily modified Chevrolet Suburban equipped with protective armor, runflat tires, vehicle transponder, and turbocharger. The most obvious feature is a configurable antennae platform mounted on the roof. This contains a large SATCOM dome containing a tracking dish that serves as the data uplink and downlink as the primary communications path for the motorcade. Also on the roof are smaller VHF antennas that serve as a repeater for the other motorcade elements as well as another communications path to local authorities and the onsite WHCA office. VHF antennae configuration changes according to the mission operational requirements. This also serves as the hub for the LCP or Limousine Control Package that allows C2 functions to be performed from USSS control cars, presidential parade limo or presidential suburban. 22 of these vehicles were built by Assurance Technology Corporation in Carlisle MA and developed with NRL (Naval Research Laboratory).
The primary communications path is via the Defense Satellite Communications System
Defense Satellite Communications System
The Defense Satellite Communications System provides the United States with military communications to support globally distributed military users. DSCS will be replaced by the Wideband Global SATCOM system. A total of 14 DSCS III satellites were launched between the early 1980s and 2003. Two...
(DSCS) III (U) satellite. There are nine of these satellites currently in orbit, each one providing six super high frequency encrypted data and voice channels and a single channel dedicated for Emergency Action Messages which would be used to direct a nuclear release from the motorcade.
Voice channels are all encrypted, most likely with FASCINATOR
FASCINATOR
FASCINATOR is a series of Type 1 encryption modules designed in the late-1980s to be installed in Motorola digital-capable voice radios. These radios were originally built to accept a DES-based encryption module that was not approved by NSA for classified communications...
encryption. FASCINATOR is a digital voice encryption standard for the Federal Government. It is based on voice being digitized using 12 kbit/s Continuously Variable Slope Delta modulation (CVSD) and then encrypted using a National Security Agency (NSA) Commercial COMSEC Endorsement Program (CCEP) Type I encryption algorithm.