APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR COMMUNICATIONS MANAGEMENT

Apparatus for communications management in respect of a moving platform having a dynamic planner (40) configured to generate a communications plan utilising one or more of a plurality of communications planning strategies, at least one platform application (14, 16, 18, 20, FIG. 1), and a communications system (42) configured to effect wireless data communication of data received from a platform application by means of one or more supported communications links in accordance with said communications plan, wherein said apparatus comprises an interface function between said dynamic planner (40) and said communications system (42), said interface function including a communications executive module (141) and a communications management module (41), said communications executive module (141) being configured to receive, from said communications system (42), condition data representative of a prevailing situational and/or environmental condition affecting a current communications plan during mission execution, generate re-plan request data and transmit said re-plan request data to said communications management module (41); said communications management module (41) being configured to generate plan request data in response to said re-plan request data and transmit said plan request data to said dynamic planner (40), said plan request data being configured to cause said dynamic planner (40) to generate a revised communications plan and transmit said revised communications plan to said communications system (42), wherein said plan request data is generated by said communications management module (41) by selecting a strategy from said plurality of communications planning strategies, based at least on said condition data, and generating said plan request data including data representative of said selected strategy.