This post is also available in:
Română
Romania is marking a milestone in building its technical and human capabilities in an era where information warfare and control of the electromagnetic spectrum are becoming decisive for operational superiority. The inauguration of the Electromagnetic Spectrum and GPS Signals Monitoring Laboratory at the Communications, Information Technology and Cyber Defense Training School in Sibiu is an important step towards fulfilling the Romanian Army’s operational need to train specialists in the field of COMINT (Communications Intelligence) and EW (Electronic Warfare).
The laboratory is the result of the collaboration between MApN and StarC4Sys S.R.L., a 100% Romanian-owned company with the support of TCI International Inc., USA, one of the global leaders in the field of monitoring, localization and classification solutions for radio signals, which StarC4Sys represents in Romania. In a context in which electronic warfare is increasingly becoming a field of algorithmic precision, the infrastructure inaugurated in Sibiu is adapted not only to current requirements, but also to future challenges.
The inauguration of the laboratory built by StarC4Sys S.R.L. and TCI International, Inc. in Sibiu took place on May 7, 2025 in the presence of representatives of MApN, namely Lieutenant General Cristian-Daniel Dan – Commander of NATO Command Sibiu, Colonel Spoială Gheorghe Spoială – Chief of Staff of the Communications and Informatics Command, Colonel Eng. Gheorghe Șerban – Commander of the Training School for Communications, Information Technology and Cyber Defense Sibiu, several specialists from MApN, STS and ANCOM, institutions with responsibilities in the field of monitoring and management of radio spectrum in Romania, respectively with the participation of the management of StarC4Sys, represented by Mr. George-Cristian Ghimfus – Founder and Owner, Mr. Marinel Moscaliuc – CEO and Mr. Vice Admiral (ret.) Ion-Cristian Lișman – International Strategic Business Development Manager.
The laboratory integrates a unique configuration in Romania, being equipped with more than ten workstations equipped with the TCI Blackbird software suite. This software solution allows the processing, evaluation and analysis of radio signals, using broadband recordings made by radio monitoring systems developed by the same manufacturer and operated by the three institutions with legal responsibilities in this field.
The design of the laboratory ensures the training of future radio monitoring system operators, COMINT and EW system operators, signal analysts, under the same conditions as those involving the direct use of radio monitoring systems/COMINT and EW systems. Moreover, the laboratory’s hardware and software resources can be used at any time as needed to accomplish concrete operational tasks.
The total value of this StarC4Sys and TCI donation exceeds half a million euros, the laboratory being realized under the Collaboration Protocol signed by the Romanian company StarC4Sys with the Ministry of National Defense in July 2024, as a natural step after the success of the inauguration of a similar laboratory in the same year, also by donation, for radio spectrum monitoring and management, within the Faculty of Electronics, Telecommunications and Information Technology of the National University of Science and Technology POLITEHNICA Bucharest, a laboratory equipped with solutions that address civilian users of technologies in this field.
The TCI Blackbird software suite of applications, integrated in TCI Model 953/955/957 systems, is recognized by users in NATO member countries for its outstanding performance in detection, automatic identification and maximum efficiency processing of radio spectrum signals. TCI systems, operated through TCI Blackbird software, provide automatic detection, AOA (Angle of Arrival), TDOA (Time Difference of Arrival), hybrid and even single station geolocation (SSL – Single Site Location), useful in complex tactical scenarios. To identify radio signals of interest, the user can build automatic detectors, without writing specialized code, based on spectral or modulation characteristics calculated by the system.
The user interface of TCI Blackbird software provides a user-friendly operating experience, with the possibility to run multiple sessions simultaneously and view real-time lists of detected radio signals, technical parameters, spectrograms, transmitter locations on the map, azimuths, etc. It is a complete learning and training environment for operators who will work in real conditions and in electromagnetic spectrum monitoring centers.
In the conditions offered by the laboratory inaugurated at the Training School for Communications, Information Technology and Cyber Defense in Sibiu, TCI Blackbird software represents a complete learning and training environment for operators and analysts who will participate in spectrum monitoring, COMINT and/or EW operations.
Statements by military officials emphasized the strategic importance of this investment. The Commandant of the School, Colonel Gheorghe Șerban, thanked the partners in this project and stated that “the human resource is what gives value to any system. We can have the most modern equipment, but without well-trained people, it remains useless. This laboratory is a concrete step in training these people”.
It should also be noted that in addition to the workstations and the specialized software solution, the Starc4sys investment also included the creation of a modern infrastructure: the complete refurbishment of the training space, the provision of optimal air conditioning, the ergonomic furniture, the structured cabling and the multimedia projection capacity. These seemingly administrative details are essential to ensure a training environment adapted to contemporary needs and rigors.
One aspect to be mentioned about the solution with which the laboratory is equipped is that, in addition to offline operation, TCI Blackbird software also allows full technical and operational capabilities to be achieved in future stages by connecting to a TCI Model 953/955/957 system installed in the perimeter of the School, which will contribute to increasing the level of training of future operators, for the benefit of MApN and other institutions with responsibilities in the field. By simply connecting existing workstations to the data flow generated by the system, based on the activation of system-wide licenses, the laboratory can be transformed into an operational cell, ready to be used in case of need.
Future plans also include equipping the laboratory with the TCI Drone Detection product to train future operators of the TCI BlackTalon C-UAS System and other similar anti-drone systems, as well as, in a more advanced stage of training, the integration of the COMINT operations specific database solution, the TCI Overwatch Database.
The TCI BlackTalon solution is an open ecosystem, ready to accommodate and integrate sensors of different types, adapted to the continuously evolving threats generated by autonomous systems: RF sensors, radar, EO/IR sensors, acoustic sensors and other categories. TCI’s proposed modular architecture for C-UAS operations provides detection, classification, geolocation and, optionally, inhibition of hostile drones. The use of the TCI BlackTalon platform as a training platform in the Romanian military education ecosystem is an essential step in training future-ready C-UAS operators. This is all the more so as two versions of this system are due to enter service this year, and it is already a recognized technology throughout the National System of Defense, Public Order and National Security.
It is important to emphasize that StarC4Sys and TCI had the initiative to launch this proposal to MApN and make this important investment in military education in Romania without any contractual obligation, the main purpose being to ensure that the level of performance that the technology provided or to be provided in the future can offer can be achieved by those who are training to use it in the Training School for Communications, Information Technology and Cyber Defense and the Land Forces Academy in Sibiu.
Lieutenant General Cristian Daniel Dan, present at the inauguration event, noted: “Success is the combination of cutting-edge technology and applied education. This lab offers exactly that mix. ”
George Cristian Ghimfus, founder of StarC4Sys, said that “We donated this technology because Romania needs people capable of using it. These people become security multipliers, whether they stay in the army or work in other strategic structures.”
The intrinsic value of the solution is underpinned by the ability to run adaptable training sessions with progressive levels of difficulty depending on the experience of the learner. Instructors can simulate real incidents, insert hostile signals into the analysis spectrum, and track real-time operator reaction, providing immediate feedback.
According to Ion-Cristian Lișman – International Strategic BDM, StarC4Sys, the fact that this laboratory is inaugurated in a specialized school only confirms that StarC4Sys has maximized its profit by investing in human resources. “The most important aspect from which we started is to manage to reach the level where when we bring equipment into state institutions we will have specialized staff from school to use it. Graduates of the Sibiu school will be able to use this equipment wherever they are, in any institution. This is a gain for Romania. People trained in Romania are the main force that can take things forward “.
The Romanian company officials are confident that, both through the laboratory opened at the Training School for Communications, Information Technology and Cyber Defense in Sibiu and the laboratory opened at the National University of Science and Technology Politehnica in Bucharest, Romania will create a niche in education in the area of radio spectrum monitoring/COMINT/EW, where specialized people can bring added value in both the military and civilian fields. The perspective is to succeed in Romania not only to use high performance equipment from abroad, but also to try to do high level maintenance, and especially to produce similar solutions in Romania. We must have this vision for the next 10-20 years.
The laboratory in Sibiu was designed from the very beginning to create a usable resource for those who wish to specialize and pursue this career, equivalent in the civilian side to what means spectrum management and monitoring, respectively COMINT/EW in the military side, being the same basic training, said Marinel Moscaliuc, CEO – StarC4Sys. Until now, there was no place in Romania where those who are concerned or oriented towards this field could gather. The StarC4Sys lab in Sibiu aims, first and foremost, to provide those who cross its threshold with a COMINT solution that is currently being operated by the Romanian Naval Forces and ANCOM, a solution that allows those entering this field to understand the basics and build a career in this field.
The hardware and software configuration of the more than ten workstations in the Sibiu laboratory is special because their use for their intended purpose requires it.
Two software solutions are installed – TCI Blackbird Software and Snapshot Radio. The solution allows the preparer to use broadband recordings from TCI systems and run offline these recordings, which are what you see in real time in a live system anywhere in Romania. Based on the evaluation and analysis of the content of these recordings, different types of signals can be recognized, decoding, narrowband recordings can be made and there is also the geolocation component that can be added. In terms of capabilities, it is a tool that creates the basis for anyone starting out in this field.
This is a first step and what we want to do is to continue to develop this laboratory by adding capture and signal processing equipment, perhaps also equipment to provide the geolocation part. The next step we would like to take is to create capabilities for training drone operators. The technology that we provide, which is also to be deployed in the MApN by the end of this year, also covers the field of anti-drone systems, for which training is also needed, StarC4Sys officials point out.
With this laboratory, Romania aligns itself with modern trends in electronic defense, making the transition from classical radio monitoring systems to those with an architecture centered on data analysis, AI and coordinated electromagnetic action. The Sibiu center is thus not just a learning space, but an active piece in the puzzle of national defense and interoperability with NATO structures.
In conclusion, the laboratory inaugurated in Sibiu is not a simple donation of the American manufacturer TCI International, Inc. realized together and with the direct involvement of StarC4Sys, it is not a simple investment in the military educational infrastructure, but a future platform for training a new type of soldier – the electromagnetic analyst – the one who will hold supremacy in the invisible, but decisive field of the radio spectrum. Romania is thus taking a decisive step towards sovereignty in electromagnetic space and the professionalization of its defence structures in this field.
