The capacity of the Spanish Navy to maintain military communications at long distances and ensure operational sovereignty in degraded environments (DDIL) fundamentally depends on the robustness of its High Frequency (HF) network, a technology that has re-emerged as a critical alternative to satellite communications (SATCOM). In this national security architecture, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria emerges as a vital and strategic node for defense. The technical engineer of the Naval Arsenal, Jorge Martínez Lafuente, stated that ‘in the current defense context, where satellite communications are a constant target of attacks, the HF infrastructure in Las Palmas is not only a reserve but a crucial element of technological sovereignty to ensure the command and control capacity of the Navy across the eastern Atlantic‘. Martínez Lafuente noted that ‘for NATO, the use of BRASS services relies on various nodes distributed among allied nations. These services are provided from the nodes of one nation or another depending on the area of influence and the coverage of radio communications.’ The heart of this communication system in Las Palmas is BRASS (Broadcast and Ship-Shore), an integrated system deployed in Spain since 2006 that allows linking ground stations with dispersed ships, offering analog voice and messaging services. Its relevance has surged in light of the demonstrated vulnerability of SATCOM to interference (jamming), spoofing, and other denial-of-service techniques. Furthermore, as BRASS is a nationally owned system, it reduces dependence on external service providers and their high costs. Las Palmas: The emergency node The national architecture of the BRASS system is geographically distributed to ensure redundancy and total coverage. Las Palmas houses the crucial infrastructure that ensures communication continuity in the event of a mainland failure: In the capital of Gran Canaria is the CECOMPAL node (Pal Communications Center); this is the emergency node of the BRASS system, and its installation in Las Palmas was and is essential given the geographical distance of the archipelago from the Peninsula. The Canary Islands have their own receiver radio station, which together with the CECOMPAL, ensures that in the event of a loss of connection with the main nodes (CECOMMAD in Madrid and CECOMFLOT in Cádiz), BRASS services can continue to be provided to the national and allied fleets. This deployment makes Las Palmas not just a logistical point but the third pillar of Navy communication security, capable of managing broadcasts and ship-shore links for national and NATO operations. Almost two decades after its entry into service, the BRASS system faces the imminent need for modernization. Current transmission equipment based on tube amplifier technology is difficult to maintain, as spare parts are no longer manufactured. The upgrade requires migrating to solid-state technology (Marconi-Elmer transmitters of 10 kW), essential to meet the new NATO STANAG standards, which demand a high frequency hopping rate. Although the national BRASS system is currently used for broadcasting, ship-shore links, and MRL (Maritime Rear Link) using ACP-127 messaging and ALE 2G (Automatic Link Establishment) protocols, the future demands a profound technological migration. The development of I3D (Integral Information Infrastructure for Defense) in Spain implies transitioning from circuit switching, used by BRASS, to packet switching based on TCP/IP protocols. This change will enable the Spanish Navy to transmit any type of data –files, images, emails, and voice over IP (VoIP)– raising the transmission speed of the current 3 kHz channels to levels that ensure useful Quality of Service (QoS), surpassing the current limitation of 9600 bits per second (bps) in analog voice services.
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