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STANAG 4538
STANAG 4538 HF automatic link establishment
Makers and integrators of military HF radio equipment, and programmes that specify beyond-line-of-sight HF communications.
STANAG 4538 is NATO's agreement covering AComP-4538, the technical standard for an automatic radio control system (ARCS) for HF communication links. NATO has not released it publicly; this page describes it from AEP-4845, a public NATO publication that cites it.
- Edition
- 2
- Published
- 2025-11-24
NATO has not released this STANAG publicly. It is NATO UNCLASSIFIED, and organisations that need it obtain it through their national standardization authority.
What it is
STANAG 4538 is the NATO agreement covering AComP-4538, the technical standards for an automatic radio control system (ARCS) for HF communication links. Edition 2 was promulgated on 24 November 2025, sponsored by DPC, DPC, CaP1, BLOS CaT. NATO has not released STANAG 4538 publicly, so this page describes it from AEP-4845, a public NATO publication that cites it.
Where it is cited
AEP-4845, Volume VI, lists STANAG 4538 in its NTV-1 Electronics Technical Standards Profile (Table 2-6) under beyond-line-of-sight communications, in the HF Home group alongside STANAG 4285, STANAG 4539, MIL-STD-188-141C and STANAG 5066.
In its text, AEP-4845 calls the HF Home specifications "the de-facto standard in HF transmission" and says that HF Home waveforms "support voice and low data-rate services". In that list it describes MIL-STD-188-141C as "2G ALE Automatic Link Establishment" and STANAG 4538 as "3G ALE Automatic Link Establishment", with STANAG 5066 given as "IP over HF, Data Link Layer capability for TCP/IP applications". AEP-4845 does not set out what STANAG 4538 requires beyond this.
How we help
A supplier bound by STANAG 4538 through a contract holds the obtained text through its national authority. In ComplyTrain you record the requirements that apply to you as your own requirements, give each an owner, and keep the evidence that shows you meet them against each one.
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