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Data EMU
Pocket-size Automatic Crypto Equipment
- wanted item
PACE, short for Portable Automatic Cryptographic Equipment,
is a handheld terminal for off-line encryption and decryption of
tactical messages, developed in the early 1980s by
Lehmkuhl
(now: Kongsberg) in Norway.
The device is NATO-approved up to the level of NATO SECRET 1
and is also known as the
MI-300 Cryptographic Field Terminal
by NFT Crypto from Oslo (Norway) [5].
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It is housed in a water-resistant aluminium case, has a full
QWERTY keyboard and a 16-character LCD screen.
The built-in memory can hold up to 3800 characters of either plain text
or encrypted text.
It has built-in acoustic and optical modems allowing messages
to be transferred via virtually any medium, including phone, radio, mail
and messenger service.
Full forward error correction (FEC) is available, allowing error rates of up to 10%
and burst errors up to 37 consecutive bits.
Message can be sent over regular voice circuits, including telephone lines
and radio channels.
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The image above shows a typical PACE as it used to
be presented on the Kongsberg website [3], but there are some
known variations.
The device is suitable for both desktop and field use. It is
battery-powered and can be connected to a
personal computer (PC).
PACE is interoperable with the ASCOM-mode of
the RACE (KL-51) cipher machine, made by
the Norwegian company STK.
A key variable consists of 30 characters, including the key identifier
and the check character at the end. More than 1036 keys can
be used and each key produces a key stream with a period of 1023
bits. The encrypted output of the PACE consists of the 26 letters of the
alphabet, arranged five-letter groups [1].
Over the years, more than 20,000 PACE devices were sold to a number of NATO
and non-NATO countries, making PACE one of the most widely used
message devices in the world [4].
The specifications below were taken from the Kongsberg website [3].
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In Norwegian, NATO SECRET is known as HEMMELIG.
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PACE has multiple functions for:
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- Encryption of free text
- MERCS application
- Authentication
- Recognition and Identification
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The PACE message terminal was initially developed by Lehmkuhl in Oslo (Norway)
and was known as the Lehmcoder Mini. The product may also have been sold by
other suppliers as an OEM product. The latest supplier was Kongsberg.
The following names are known for this product:
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- Lehmcoder Mini (Lehmkuhl, Oslo, Norway)
- MI-300 (NFT Crypto A/S, Oslo, Norway)
- PACE (Kongsberg)
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The following accessories were available for PACE:
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- Tempest Field Printer
- RS232 serial interface
- Radio Adapters
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- Modes: 7 different operational modes
- Modem: FSK, 2025/2225Hz (Bell 103)
- Memory: 2 stores, dynamically divided, 3500 characters total
- Crypto: Two NATO-approved algorithms
- Device: Unclassified, CCI
- Security: All classifications
- Key variables: Storage space for 9 keys
- Key setting: Physical (manually) or via electronic transfer
- TEMPEST: AMSG 720B-approved
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PACE was developed by Lehmkuhl Elektronikk in Oslo (Norway) in the late 1970s
for the Royal Norwegian Army and was first known as Lehmcoder Mini
[1].
The design was based on the earlier Omnicoder that was developed by Cato
Seeberg, an officer in the Norwegian Navy, and produced by Lehmkuhl in the
early 1970s [4].
PACE was one of the first microprocessor-based encryptors and the
cryptographic algorithms were implemented entirely in software.
20,000 units were built.
Lehmkuhl was first acquired acquired by Elektrisk Bureau AS (LME)
and then by Thales, who sold the product off to Kongsberg Defence
Communications AS.
Although Kongsberg has stopped supplying PACE devices
in 2007, many of them are still in use today (2012).
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- Jane's Military Communications, Lehmcoder Mini Cryptographic Terminal
Seventh edition, 1986. p. 520.
- NATO Information Assurance, PACE (MERCS) (CCI)
Brief description of PACE. Retrieved June 2012.
- Kongsberg Defence Communications AS, PACE, Pocket-size Automatic Crypto Equipment
Information retrieved from Kongsberg website 11 March 2006.
Removed from the website in 2006 or 2007.
- Norwegian National Security Authority (NSM), Årsmelding 2008
NSM Annual Report 2008 (Norwegian).
Noen kryptosuksesser. p. 15.
- Janes Military Communications, MI 300 Cryptographic Field Terminal
ISBN 0-7106-1163-3. Fifteenth Edition, 1994-1995. p. 532.
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© Crypto Museum. Created: Tuesday 12 June 2012. Last changed: Wednesday, 30 September 2020 - 20:57 CET.
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![PACE message device [3]](img/pace_large.jpg)