COTHEN ALE & AIRCRAFT LIST Last Updated: 30 June 2020 Send updates, additions, & corrections to
[email protected] Information in this file has been collected on openly available internet sources as well as personal monitoring and posts by other monitors. NO classified information is knowingly included in this file. This list contains ALE address and frequency information for the COTHEN ALE Net as well as Commsta Kodiak and other logged USCG ALE nets. It also includes the latest list of known USCG aircraft. COTHEN background info: --------------------------------------- COTHEN is an HF ALE network that uses landlines to connect nineteen transmission sites spanning the nation in order to form one unified coverage area. Currently, the network has 19 sites, 89 remote communications consoles (RCC’s), and a Technical Service Center in Orlando, FL. Back in 1984, the design for a U.S. Customs radio network was conceived. Code-named COTHEN, Celluar Over The Horizon Enforcement Network, it combines a radio, computer, and a tactical voice privacy unit into a state-of-the-art communications system that meets the demanding requirements of tactical interdiction aircraft and boats in their fight against smuggling activities. COTHEN's first fixed station transmitter near Memphis, Tenn., became operational in 1985. The Blue Lightning Operations Center was the first command office and its marine vessels were the first tactical platforms to have COTHEN radios. This initial deployment proved so successful that COTHEN grew to include all U.S. Customs aircraft. COTHEN now provides communications support for hundreds of aircraft, marine interdiction vessels, command offices, and numerous agencies including the U.S.