The X-Factor: A SATCOM Blog
New Airborne SATCOM Terminals Are Game Changer
By Kelly Nicklin Satellites cover the majority of Earth. That could be good news for military and humanitarian airborne missions which, by their very nature, must adapt to frequently changing circumstances. Whether manned or unmanned, airborne communications are only as good as the satellite connection through which they transmit. Ku-band may be sufficient in certain…
What’s Broken? Actionable Improvements for DoD SATCOM Acquisition
Bureaucracies move slowly – DoD being no exception. Rules originally put in place for good reason sometimes become outdated and counterproductive. The world has changed. Satellites, and commercial SATCOM specifically, are now an essential – not merely supplemental, but ESSENTIAL – part of the military operational capability. Over the past 10 years or more, commercial…
Space Architecture: Commercial Investment Requires Commitment from DoD
In recent years, DoD has been concerned about the “vulnerability” of commercial spacecraft and has imposed Information Assurance (IA) criteria onto satellite operators. DoD is now discussing what they see as a significant lack of “protection features” such as anti-jam capabilities, beam-forming technologies and other items that might make commercial satellites look more like military…
Commercial X-band for Solutions Integrators – Looking Beyond MILSAT Systems
X-band is a satellite communication frequency reserved solely for military and government use. The benefits of X-band include lower probability of interference, high throughput and efficiency. Far too often, we run across the common misperception that the only available sources of X-band are government-owned MILSAT fleets. However, X-band is also available commercially making it, hands…
Ensuring Stability in the Asia-Pacific Region
Is There a Viable Business Case for Commercial Satellite Coverage without a Conflict? While there are currently no full-scale conflicts or natural disasters in the Asia-Pacific theater, it is widely agreed that this region is the most susceptible in the world to both types of events. Nation states there are gaining considerable economic, military and…
Brazil’s MILSATCOM is a Dominating Presence in Latin America
We recently attended SMi’s inaugural Milsatcom Latin America conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and found the country to be the perfect location for SMi’s first foray into the region. Brazil is one of the most forward facing countries in the region in space leadership and attendees were able to catch a glimpse of the…
Why Satellite Will Remain Relevant
Philip Harlow, XTAR President & COO, recently participated in the AIAA Space conference on the “Industry Executives” panel and the ICSSC Colloquium on the “Next Generation Broadband Satcom” panel. While I am quick to remind my colleagues from the satellite industry that satellites are not the end goal – we are simply an infrastructure that facilitates the…
Time Again for the UK Ministry of Defence to Be Brave
In 2003, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) contracted with then-Paradigm to build and operate the Skynet 5 constellation through a Private Finance Initiative (PFI). Speaking boldly, the UK government displayed unprecedented bravery and vision to enter into an arrangement with industry for its critical secure network communications capability. Commercial operators and manufacturers can offer…
DoD Strategy: Choose the Right Satellite Technology
The DoD should use this time of relatively low tempo operations to throw off the shackles and take a fresh look at how it addresses SATCOM capabilities for future mission requirements. Troop withdrawal from Afghanistan is underway. Units are coming home. Shouldn’t a major change like this, after such a prolonged war focus, present the…
Would WGS International Partnerships Give DoD the Cutting Edge?
Recently, Frank Kendall warned that the U.S. military may soon fall behind in the arms technology race. Our potential adversaries are modernizing all of their capabilities, and we are trying to strategize how to counter this progress. In the current budgetary environment, can we hold tight to the existing satellite communications framework and still achieve this…