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Rain and War
The time for battle is approaching. Timing is crucial; if ground is to be gained, strategy must be able to quickly change where necessary. Communication is critical. As the commander looks to the sky, he sees rain is coming – success now looks doubtful as his message may not get through. The year is 1864…
Read MoreSpecial Operations Forces (SOF) and X-band SATCOM: A Perfect Pairing
Since 2001, asymmetric warfare has become a keystone of US warfighting doctrine. Joint Publication 3-05, the DoD manual detailing asymmetric warfare, describes the complex nature of these “asymmetric” activities known as special operations, which range from direct action and counter-terrorism to foreign internal defense and humanitarian assistance. These operations are highly mobile, very specialized, and…
Read MoreX-band and HTS: Clearing the Myths
HTS is in the news a lot lately. But as we’ve highlighted in previous posts, it faces several challenges in military applications. In this series, we have outlined ways in which X-band compares to HTS for a military or government user. XTAR is the tried and trusted solution and naturally suited for the military but…
Read MoreX-band and HTS: Exclusivity
XTAR has one customer and one customer only: the military or government user. Why is that important? With a lot of talk recently about HTS, we feel it is important to highlight how we are different, especially from the user’s experience. This post is third in a series of four which examines key ways in…
Read MoreX-band and HTS: Efficiencies
XTAR has one customer and one customer only: the military or government user. We see this as a strength, not a limitation, as everything we do is designed to ensure success for that end user. With a lot of talk recently about HTS, we wanted to explain how we compare, especially from the user’s experience.…
Read MoreX-band and HTS: Reliability and Flexibility
XTAR has one customer and one customer only: the military or government user. We see this as a strength, not a limitation, as everything we do is designed to ensure success for that end user. With a lot of talk recently about HTS, we wanted to explain how we compare, especially from the user’s experience.…
Read MoreChecking Under the Hood
Think about all the truly mediocre products that have made it to market. Your list might differ from mine, but I would include McDonald’s hamburgers, Wonder Bread and those exploding hoverboards. Now for all of those disappointing products that somehow made it, think about the high quality products out there that haven’t gotten the notice…
Read MoreU.S. Military Satellite Communications: Taking the High Ground with X-band SATCOM
On Saturday, March 18, the Department of Defense successfully launched the ninth of ten military satellite communications (MILSATCOM) satellites known as Wideband Global SATCOM – Nine (WGS-9) into orbit, bringing significantly more X-band and Ka-band SATCOM capacity into the hands of the U.S. Department of Defense and the militaries of Australia, Canada, Denmark, Luxembourg, the…
Read MoreSize is Important in Mobile SATCOM
We’ve yet to hear a satellite company boast about having the largest mobile terminals around. Mobile terminals are best in small, portable sizes that can easily move as the mission does. So what importance should be placed on the size of a satellite communications provider? Is bigger better here as well?
Read MoreEver wonder why so many critical, lifesaving radar applications operate in X-band?
You may have never noticed, but X-band is all around you. Many police speed-trap radars used to enforce safe speeds, and even air traffic control radars used for aircraft collision avoidance, all operate in X-band.
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