Allied Command Europe Highband
[Image:Radio_Relay_Station_Former_USAF_microwave_relay_station_ACE-High_system_at_Lefkada,_Greece,_photo_6.JPG|thumb|300px|Billboard type troposcatter antennas]
Image:Abandoned_Tropospheric_Scatter_Dishes_-_geograph.org.uk_-_150323.jpg|thumb|300px|Troposcatter dish array formerly at RAF Stenigot
[Image:Tropo_Scatter_Microwave_System_Antenna.jpg|thumb|300px|Dish type microwave antennas for mobile troposcatter communication]
Allied Command Europe Highband, better known as ACE High, was a fixed service NATO radiocommunication and early warning 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 assignments were provided in accordance with the NATO Joint Civil/Military Frequency Agreement. The system was designed to be a combined UHF troposcatter/microwave radio system, providing long-range communications in the form of telephone, telegraph 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 through central Europe to eastern Turkey. The transmitters broadcast at 832.56 - 959.28 MHz producing an average transmitting power of 10 kilowatts.
History
NATO was established in 1949 with a supreme command near Versailles, France, and the regional headquarters Allied Forces Northern Europe at Kolsås, Norway, Allied Forces Central Europe at Laffaux, France and Allied Forces Southern Europe at Naples, Italy. Supreme command, the three RHQ's and all subordinate units used various communication systems to establish contact: high frequency 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". 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, UK in 1961, the ACE-High system was officially transferred to NATO.
In 1966, France, under president Charles de Gaulle, withdrew from NATO integrated military structure and systems had to be rerouted from France to Brunssum, Netherlands while the former Primary Control Center at Beauvais, was relocated to Lamersdorf, West-Germany.
In the early 1970s, the first geostationary satellites in the "Satellite Communication" network were activated, thus expanding the ACE-High system.
The rise of the military SATCOM I-III, SATCOM IV network satellites, Internet routers, and the Central Region Integrated Communication System and the Crisis Response Operations in NATO Operating Systems 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 microwave links to other networks reaching C2 centres not listed here.; AFNORTH-Norway
- > NSEZ
TX RX Equipment:1 Scatter Line + 2 Radio Line
- > NHGZ
TX RX Equipment:1 Radio Line
- > NKLZ
TX RX Equipment:2 Scatter Line + 1 Radio Line
- > NVAZ Pos unbekannt
- > NMOZ
TX RX Equipment:2 Scatter Line
- > NSBZ
TX RX Equipment:2 Scatter Line + 1 Radio Line
Pos 543 m AMSL
TX RX Equipment:1 Radio Line
- > NSOZ
TX RX Equipment:2 Scatter Line + 1 Radio Line
- > NVAZ
TX RX Equipment:3 Radio Line
- > NKOZ
TX RX Equipment:1 Radio Line
- > NVEZ
TX RX Equipment:1 Radio Line
- > NSMZ
TX Rx Equipment:3 Scatter Line
- > NLYZ
TX RX Equipment:2 Scatter Line
; AFNORTH-Denmark
- > DTOZ
TX RX Equipment:2 Scatter Line + 1 Radio Line
- > DLUZ
TX RX Equipment:1 Radio Line
;AFNORTH-United Kingdom
*
- > UMSZ - Mossy Hill > 227 m AMSL
- > UCOZ - Collafirth Hill > 239 m AMSLUSVZ - Saxa Vord 276 m AMSL
- > UMOZ - Mormond Hill 227 m AMSL
- > UBUZ - Long Haven Hill 95 m AMSL
- > UBOZ - Brizlee Wood 250 m AMSL
- > UBIZ - Stenigot 153 m AMSL
- > UMAZ - Coldblow Lane 194 m AMSL
*
- RAF Uxbridge – local terminus
- 71 m AMSL
- - Extension 178 m AMSLFEMZ - Emeville 247 m AMSL
- 143 m AMSLFRBZ - Rozoy Bellevalle 219 m AMSLFAOZ - Paris South 216 m AMSLFROZ - Rohrbach 376 m AMSLABHZ - Kindsbach 458 m AMSL
- FLYZ - Lyon 1632 m AMSLFNIZ - Nice 1703 m AMSL
- HBRZ - Brunssum 95 m AMSL TX equipment 1S + 1R
- HMAZ - Maastricht 82 m AMSL TX equipment 1S +2R
- 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
- ABHZ - Kindsbach 458 m ü. NNAEMZ - Aurich 10 m ü. NNALAZ -Lammersdorf 593 m ü. NNAHEZ - Hehn 81 m ü. NN
- 151 m ü. NN
- AUEZ - Uedem 47 m ü. NN
- AFEZ - Feldberg 1458 m ü. NN
- 164 m AMSLICEZ - Lame Concordia 7 m AMSL IAVZ - Aviano 99 m AMSL ITLZ - Rome 621 m AMSLIMCZ - Monte Cavo 930 m AMSLIICZ - Naples 639 m AMSLIPEZ - Monte Petrino 335 m AMSLIMNZ - Monte Nardello 1516 m AMSLIVUZ - Monte Vulture 1301 m AMSLIIAZ - Monte Iacontenente IPFZ - Pietra Ficcata 586 m AMSLIAMZ - Martina Franca IMMZ - Catanzaro 1319 m AMSLICCZ - Monte Lauro 944 m AMSL
; AFSOUTH-Greece
- > GKFZ - Kefallonia 1001 m AMSL
- > GPKZ - Athens 1038 m AMSL
- > GZIZ - Ziros 786 m AMSL
- > GPIZ - Phillon 1513 m AMSL
- > GVIZ - Vitzi 2009 m AMSL
- > GISZ - Ismaros 612 m AMSL
- > TBPZ - Izmir - Bespinar Tepes 964 m AMSL
- > TKYZ - Izmir Tail
- > TKUZ - Eskishir - Kutahya Dagi 1820 m AMSL
- > TESZ - Eskirsehir Tail
- > TEDZ - Ankara - Elan Dagi 1856 m AMSL
- > TKJZ - Merzifon
- > TPEZ - Persembe
- > TPAZ - Pazar
- > TPIZ - Pinarbasi 2285 m AMSL
- > TDDZ - Davudi Dağı 515 m AMSL
- > TDAZ - Adana Tail
- > TDIZ - Dyarbakir - Karaka Dagi
- > TDEZ - Dyarbakir Tail
- Bloatli, Turkey
- > JCGZ -Cavo Greko 62 m AMSL
Initially, 60, 30 or 15 ft dish or planar antennas were used in combination with General Electric or RCA 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.