MIL-STD-1553 establishes requirements for digital command/response time division multiplexing (TDM) techniques on military vehicles, especially aircraft. The existing MIL-STD-1553 network operates at a bit rate of 1 Mbps and is limited by the protocol to a maximum data payload capacity of approximately 700 kilobits per second. The limited capacity of MIL-STD-1553 buses coupled with emerging data rich applications for avionics platforms plus the expense involved with changing or adding wires to thousands of aircraft in the fleet has driven the need for expanding the data carrying capacity of the existing MIL-STD-1553 infrastructure.