During a recent panel discussion at the 2025 Defense in Space Conference, experts from GovSat, ST Engineering iDirect, and Kratos discussed the threats interference poses to military operations and how satellite operators are working with global militaries to address them.

Shahida Barick, moderator of the DiSC panel, opened the discussion by asking the panelists how industry can help governments and militaries mitigate interference. Josef Nemec, Technology Director at GovSat, noted that interference mitigation involves detection, monitoring, and the proactive hardening of spacecraft against intentional or unintentional interference.

“What we do is detect, monitor, geolocate, analyze, characterize, and report almost every interference event in all frequency bands that we have on our spacecraft,” said Nemec. “This provides not only situational awareness to our customers, but we can provide initial actionable intelligence that helps our customers develop countermeasures and a deterrence posture towards such events. We also go the extra mile to deliver a system that is resistant and resilient towards interference in itself. We have anti-jamming, adaptive beam forming, and geolocation features that we can use.”

According to Nemec, the volume of satellite interference events has been increasing at an alarming rate, from both accidental and adversarial sources. This spike in satellite interference is forcing satellite operators and global militaries to rethink how they collaborate on interference mitigation.

“In earlier years, interference was relatively easy to mitigate, and it was occurring at a relatively low pace,” Nemec said. “But [the pace] has changed. We do not have the time to manually investigate every event. We need to automate [interference mitigation]. In an accidental interference scenario, there usually is a point of contact on the other side that you could go to and resolve the matter . But since [the start of the Ukraine war in] February 2022, this has changed.”

Dave Davis, Senior Technical Director at ST Engineering iDirect, agreed with Nemec that the volume of interference has grown tremendously since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine.

“What we’ve been seeing in the last three to four years has been an increase in interference from many sources,” explained Davis. “Some include adversaries deliberately trying to take down systems and cause interference. But we’ve also seen a massive increase in interference from unintentional sources, like LEOs interfering with GEO technology, or radar interference, or interference from 5G technologies.”

Nemec added that the volume of interference present in today’s warfighting environments requires new approaches from satellite operators to strengthen the resilience and transmission security (transec) of a military satellite’s transmissions. This approach includes satellite operators working in tandem with military customers.

“Let’s try to imagine [an approach where] customers delegate their mission planning and comms processes to a trusted operator that will become a copilot during their ISR mission,” Nemec explained. “The copilot would ensure that the customer stays connected, switching from satellite to satellite, capacity to capacity, etc., at all times. The question is no longer if we will face interference during a mission but when and what to do about it. Customers will face interference for sure.

For Mark Lambert, President of Kratos Communications, his company is one of those copilots working alongside global militaries to analyze the type of interference occurring and geolocate its sources. “We’re in the RF domain, looking at the transmissions that are both being received and transmitted by satellites,” said Lambert. “We use that to understand what’s happening in the spectrum, if there is somebody transmitting from the ground, and geolocate where on the ground they are, as well as understand the type of interference that is happening.”

In a follow-up question from an audience member, Lambert was asked what the response is after a source of interference is identified.

“We have the technology to geolocate and understand where interference is coming from, whether deliberate or accidental,” Lambert answered. “Once you’ve identified the source and the ownership of that transmitter, there’s a choice as to what you do about it. If you think it’s just a commercial VSAT terminal that’s mispointed, then potentially you can ring up the network operator to send an engineer to fix it before the interference really begins to have a dramatic effect on your systems. If it’s a more malicious actor, then I guess we need to get our friends on the ground involved to take some more serious action.”

One theme that popped up throughout the panel discussion was the role of automation in interference mitigation. Barick asked Davis whether interference mitigation should be fully automated or require a human-in-the-loop. “I think automation is important,” replied Davis. “You want to make it as easy as possible for the end users. The more automated it is, the better it’s going to be, and the quicker it’s going to react. But you absolutely need to have the human in the loop there as well.”

Davis explained that there may be instances where military customers want to be seen and affected by interference to gather information about an adversary. In those cases, a human would be needed in the loop. Echoing Davis, when asked what the future of interference mitigation looks like, Nemec replied with three words, “Automation, automation, automation.”

Click the articles below to read more news from DiSC:

How Geopolitics is Reshaping the Space Domain

Optical Ground Terminals for the Military: The Benefits and Barriers

David Broadbent Lays Out a New Era of Public Private Partnership in Space at 2025 Defense in Space Conference

The post Satellite Interference: How Industry and Global Militaries Are Approaching Mitigation appeared first on SES Space and Defense.

With the Pentagon completing a blueprint for the Golden Dome missile defense system in September 2025, now under review, the satellite industry is preparing to play a significant role as initial concepts evolve and the system architecture is defined. Satellite networks have long played a critical role in supporting defense capabilities across all U.S. military, defense, and intelligence agencies, including the Space Force.

Today, satellites enable secure communication among military leaders and warfighters. They support intelligence gathering, weather monitoring, and enhanced situational awareness. GPS satellites provide precision positioning and timing data for soldiers, aircraft, and military vehicles. Satellites embedded with sensors and cameras capture, track, and transmit critical information related to enemy ground, air, sea, and orbital activity, helping to anticipate and provide the opportunity to neutralize threats.

“Golden Dome is the United States’ defense initiative to address adversary missile threats,” explained Bryan Benedict, Senior Director of Innovation and Satellite Programs at SES Space & Defense. “Golden Dome encompasses the detection, analysis, tracking, and response of threats coming from conventional ICBMs, and from hypersonic ballistic missiles, which have completely different signatures.”

While still in the conceptual stage, Golden Dome will undoubtedly feature highly advanced space technology and a myriad of space-based components to protect the homeland from missile and advanced-weapon attacks. The program will elevate the space and satellite industry’s role in U.S. defense to an entirely new level.

From detecting, tracking, and even intercepting missiles to enabling data transmission and real-time communication among disparate assets, satellites will play an integral role within the Golden Dome architecture in the following three ways:

Gaining the Early Warning Advantage: 
A primary function of Golden Dome satellites is to detect missile launches instantly, regardless of where they occur worldwide. Infrared-equipped satellites in Geostationary (GEO), Medium Earth (MEO), and Lower Earth Orbits (LEO) can detect the heat signatures of hypersonic and ballistic missile launches and track their trajectories, enabling earlier threat detection and improved response coordination.

This multi-orbit approach is crucial, a point emphasized by Randall Trent, Senior Advisor, Business and Product Development at SES Space & Defense. “GEO satellites will be able to detect the launch, and then other systems can be alerted that something is coming. GEO sees the launch, MEO and LEO then follow it and track it. A successful Golden Dome architecture will require the use of assets in multiple orbits and an extensive ground connection infrastructure.”

Defense from Space:
In addition to detecting launches, satellites within the architecture could provide and forward information to defensive positions, enabling the tasking of ground- and space-based interceptors capable of destroying enemy missiles before multiple warheads are deployed. Commercial spacecraft will both augment and enhance the resiliency of the U.S. government’s sovereign systems – ultimately denying enemies the ability to use space to launch attacks.

A Resilient Nerve Center:
Perhaps most crucially, satellites will serve as the backbone for a secure, resilient, and centralized command and control system, connecting all space-based assets with those on the ground and at sea, providing real-time exchange of data and high-resolution imagery.

Satellite-powered communications will arm military decision-makers with critical insights related to battlefield conditions and enemy actions, all of which can be securely shared and used to inform decision-making at the highest levels, ensuring that responses to threats are coordinated, rapid, and effective.

Thus far, funding allocated for Golden Dome is a fraction of what will be required to advance the missile defense system from concept to reality. In the near term, the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is using the Scalable Homeland Innovative Enterprise Layered Defense (SHIELD) IDIQ to identify companies capable of contributing to the Golden Dome architecture and to facilitate commercial collaboration.

In the long run, the successful execution of the program will be dependent on the prowess and technological innovations these space and satellite companies can deliver.

The post Three Ways Satellites Will Play a Crucial Role in America’s Golden Dome appeared first on SES Space and Defense.

The desire to make optical ground terminals widely available is understandable, given the benefits the technology will deliver for global militaries. And since optical lasers are already successfully deployed for satellite-to-satellite communications in orbit, Morizur noted that widespread adoption of optical ground is within reach. “Let’s keep in mind that lasers in space are a reality,” said Morizur. “It’s not science fiction anymore. It’s already there.”

So, what exactly are the key advantages optical technologies will have in the satellite-to-ground game? And if optical ground is the next natural step for the technology’s development, what are the remaining challenges that stand in the way of fully realizing its benefits?

Providing Greater Security, Increased Data Rates Through Optical Lasers
For Morizur, the need for higher throughputs is one of the top reasons why global militaries will want to shift away from traditional RF and towards optical for space-to-ground communications. Morizur explained that government and miltary users leverage satellites to carry increasing amounts of data and require space-to-ground capabilities to accommodate the high volume of data they generate. “[Customers] need higher data rates,” said Morizur. “Optical provides much higher data rates than Ka-Band and Ku-Band.”

In addition to higher data rates, optical space-to-ground comms also provide one of the most critical elements that DoD SATCOM architectures require: greater security. “The most important thing about [optical space-to-ground comms] is it’s difficult to detect, difficult to intercept, and it’s jamming resistant,” said Morizur. Unlike RF, which can be intercepted by adversaries on the ground if they are within a 40-kilometer radius, an optical laser beam’s radius is exceptionally smaller. “The [optical laser’s] spot on the ground is tens of meters,” said Morizur. “That means that if you want to intercept it, you need to be within tens of meters of the ground station.”

Keane agreed with Morizur about the role of optical in providing greater data security on the ground, especially given the evolving nature of warfare over the last several years. “There has been a distinct shift, especially since 2022, from the sort of asymmetric conflicts that we’ve been involved in previously, where you didn’t have to worry about adversary capabilities in terms of jamming,” said Keane. “What we’ve seen come out of Ukraine, and what might be anticipated in other theaters for the future, [makes optical comms] more important. The low probability of intercept/detection (LPI/LPD) characteristics of [optical comms] are significant for those end users.”

In addition to the higher data rates and the LPI/LPD benefits that optical space-to-ground comms provides to DoDs, Robinson pointed out that optical also plays a crucial role in the data path diversity required to support a proliferated space architecture.

“When we think about what’s happening in the last five years, in particular with non-geostationary satellite orbits…and mesh networks that are taking place between those constellations, it’s not just about having multiple orbits, but multi-modalities that are leveraging that data highway,” explained Robinson. “Creating that network in space requires a greater degree of sophistication on the ground in order to receive, process, and make that data most usable to those who are on the front line. When we think about defense end-users, optical is about getting that data down faster and leveraging that…space-to-space, optical highway and being able to bring that data down faster.”

Atmosphere, Contracting, and Transportability Breakthroughs
Though optical comms is already being used for communications between satellites in space, there are still limiting factors that prevent fully realizing the capability’s potential on the ground. The first and primary challenge concerns the fundamental physics of how lasers interact with Earth’s atmosphere.

“People will tell you [the challenge] is about clouds, but it’s not cloud coverage,” said Morizur. “The problem is the atmosphere. We need to deal with the interplay between the laser beam and the atmosphere. This is the main problem.” Morizur explained that through advancements in adaptive optics, those challenges are currently being solved. “It took a long, long time to solve with adaptive optics and different technologies, but we’ve got validation now,” said Morizur. “But it took time for the industry to get there.”

To Keane, one of the main limiting factors in the DoD’s use of optical ground technologies lies in the ability to acquire them. “From our perspective, we need the right contracting mechanisms and other things in place to be able to get this to certain end-users,” he said. “I think we’ve got quite a broad scope on certain things that we already have, but it’s making sure that optical fits and can actually be easily bought by those end-users.”

Keane also pointed to the need for optical terminals that can be leveraged at the tactical edge for different military use cases, noting that Robinson’s company, Data Path, has been making strides in this area. “We’ve got to get [tactical optical terminals] out at the tip of the spear, so people can be sending ISR information back and enabling battlefield decision making,” said Keane. “We also see people wanting smaller and smaller terminals…[DataPath] has already been [working] on [optical terminals] that are much more tactical.”

Robinson explained that the push for tactical, ruggedized optical ground terminals stems from the DoD’s need for operational flexibility and the desire to move away from fixed terminals, citing Iran’s attack on a fixed U.S. terminal in Kuwait last summer. “It’s a powerful example of why it’s important to have operational flexibility and relocation ability, so that you’re not a sitting bullseye,” said Robinson. “This is the defense domain. We have to be clever, flexible, and agile, and move where and when the threat might exist. So, transportability is a huge part of that for us. We’re very excited that we will have the first transportable optical ground station ready by September of next year.”

Optical Ground + RF = Increased Assurance
The panelists agreed that when optical ground terminals operate en masse, they will not completely replace RF technologies. Instead, they will serve as an additional layer and tool that will increase the assurance of data transport and comms for the warfighter. “[Optical] is just going to be another mode of transport, essentially,” explained Keane. “For [SES Space & Defense], we are introducing it into the networks for customers to increase the assurance and availability of what they have. It’s not that we’re going to rely just on optical, but we’re not going to rely just on RF, either. We will continue to integrate [optical] for the end-users as it makes the most sense.”

Robinson agreed with Keane that both RF and optical will be crucial in providing resiliency to the warfighter. “There are few operators better positioned than SES, because they have multiple orbits that they’re working with,” said Robinson. “The core themes of resiliency and redundancy include not relying just on RF or optical, but having a balance of both. Similarly, [we shouldn’t] rely solely on fixed infrastructure on the ground or rely solely on transportable infrastructure. It’s about both. There’s room for both. That’s a really healthy ecosystem for us to be looking toward.”

The post Optical Ground Terminals for the Military: The Benefits and Barriers appeared first on SES Space and Defense.

This Summer, SES and the Luxembourg Government announced that they would be commissioning the design and development of GovSat-2, the second military communications satellite under their GovSat joint-venture.

So why are SES and the Government of Luxembourg launching such second satellite for GovSat? To understand that, we have to first look at what differentiates GovSat’s capabilities from traditional commercial geosynchronous (GEO) service offerings.

Purpose-built for government missions
The GovSat-1 GEO satellite leverages military payloads capable of delivering sensitive communications via dedicated military frequency bands. While government users often leverage traditional satellite services in commercial frequency bands for certain applications, GovSat-1 offers secure connectivity for more sensitive missions thanks to its Mil Ka- and X-band frequencies, as well as its reinforced security.

In addition, the company operates from a fully dedicated Secure Missions Operations Center, using hardened ground segment that ensures end-to-end security. This allows GovSat-1 to deliver a higher level of service assurance when and where defense users need, such as within Europe, the Middle East and Africa, as well as over the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.

Such military-grade communications have the benefit of also being more jam-resistant than usual GEO satellites. This is important, as the past several years have seen governments facing new and fast-evolving threats, making the need for secure services one of the most significant drivers for the development of GovSat-2.

Resilient secure services for NATO allies
Today, GovSat is an in-demand asset for NATO allies for their sensitive military operations, and the need for it has never been higher.

Bearing witness to the ongoing geographical tensions around the world has made many NATO nations in Europe concerned about new aggressions from possible adversaries. This is forcing many of these nations to bolster their own defense and work to ensure they have access to advanced capabilities and systems needed for their own national and overall shared security.

Modern warfighting relies on connectivity and communications. The proliferation of connected sensors and network-enabled military systems makes communications an essential part of coordinated, data-driven, multi-domain operations. Satellite plays an essential role in modern military networks – delivering secure communications and signals to locations where terrestrial networks are either unavailable, untrusted, or denied.

With GovSat-1 being the only commercially-operated satellite that uses military frequencies and that can securely deliver classified information and communications, there has been tremendous demand from across the NATO nations for the satellite’s capacity.

While NATO nations are clamoring for more GovSat capacity to scale, they’re also looking for more enhanced and sophisticated security features, as the threat environment is constantly evolving and adversaries are becoming increasingly capable. Furthermore, they are also looking for capacity in complementary frequency bands such as UHF (Ultra High Frequency).

The combination of these considerations and requirements led GovSat to commission the development of GovSat-2.

A new, even more capable GovSat satellite
Buit by Thales Alenia Space, GovSat-2 will encompass the most recent advancements in satellite and military technology, addressing the strongest requirements in terms of Service Assurance and Security.

GovSat-2 is also being developed with the latest digital processing capabilities on board – to help increase resilience against adversarial jamming, spoofing, and other electronic warfare capabilities. The same technology will also deliver enhanced flexibility, giving the satellite certain beam steering capabilities necessary to address specific jamming scenarios.

Finally, GovSat-2 will be built with the specific current needs of NATO allies in mind. This includes the addition of UHF for tactical communications for allied militaries.

As modern warfare becomes increasingly reliant on networks and communications, the need for a commercial satellite that is capable of securely and assuredly delivering military data increases exponentially. The commissioning of GovSat-2 will help meet this requirement for NATO nations while also enabling increased collaboration and mission coordination across countries – providing the network backbone needed for advanced missions and improving collective deterrence and defense around the globe.

To learn more about GovSat, click HERE.

The post GovSat-2: Enabling Defense, Security and Collective Deterrence with Advanced Secure SATCOM appeared first on SES Space and Defense.

Regardless of whether the optimal number of minutes is three or five, it’s apparent that more rapid care results in more positive outcomes when it comes to being wounded in battle. The quality of the care delivered in those first few minutes is also important – the more specialized and higher quality of the care, the better the outcome. This means getting critical, specialized and timely care to wounded soldiers on the battlefield could have a massive impact on soldier survivability and recovery.

Historically, it’s been difficult to get more than triage and emergency medical services to the battlefield – there simply aren’t enough doctors and specialists to have them on the front lines. This means quality, specialized care is often reserved for wounded warriors who are stabilized in the field by emergency medical personnel and then evacuated to a medical facility.

“Telehealth solutions can enable military medics to quickly consult with trauma surgeons or other specialists, ensuring that lifesaving interventions—such as managing hemorrhages, airway control, or resuscitation—are performed as quickly as possible with the best available guidance.” – Dr. Patrick Fullerton

But what if a doctor or specialist could be looking over the shoulder of a medic on the battlefield – helping to direct their actions and learning and monitoring the patient’s condition before they arrive at the hospital? That’s precisely what a company called OPTAC-X is looking to enable with telehealth capabilities delivered via satellite.

Civilian pilot program shows positive results
Leveraging advanced assisted reality headsets and satellite connectivity, OPTAC-X has created a telehealth solution that brings physicians into the field and makes them active participants in the delivery of emergency medical care. This accelerates the delivery of critical, specialized medical care intended to improve patient outcomes. The OPTAC-X solution has been tested in pilot programs for civilians within the United States, and has been highly beneficial for Americans in need of emergency medical care.

“…in the field of emergency medicine, we deal with life-threatening and limb-threatening injuries; that’s our primary job. When people…have highly concerning symptoms or they’ve suffered a life or limb-threatening injury, getting to them quickly and providing care efficiently is critical because many of these diseases or injuries are time-sensitive,” explained Dr. Christopher Russi, an Emergency Medicine Physician at the Mayo Clinic. “When you’re bleeding, the clock is ticking.”

But this solution isn’t just about delivering better care outside of the hospital. It can also ensure better, prompt, and accurate care is administered more quickly when the patient presents at the medical facility.

“…we need to get patients from the point of injury or the point of illness to the hospital as expeditiously but as safely as possible. But that window of time, that transport window, is where we have a bit of a black box. It’s a data vacuum. We have no idea what’s happening with those patients during that Transport window,” said Dr. Russi. Telehealth eliminates that vacuum, ensuring that physicians awaiting patients know exactly what’s coming through the door and can act more rapidly to deliver the appropriate care.

These are just two of the many benefits that OPTAC-X identified in its recent pilot program conducted in conjunction with the Mayo Clinic and Kymeta. That pilot program outfitted emergency medical services (EMS) personnel with the OPTAC-X solution, powered by Kymeta electronically scanned array [ESA] satellite terminals and SES geostationary (GEO) satellite connectivity. During the pilot, EMS personnel were able to bring physicians into patients’ homes, improving the quality and accelerating the speed of care – ultimately improving outcomes.

“We published a case where Mayo Clinic’s ambulance service responded to a patient suffering from severe respiratory distress that devolved into a cardiac arrest. The paramedics that were trained to use the technology connected an emergency medicine physician who had real-time visual on the patient at the scene and provided some resuscitative guidance to the prehospital team.” said Dr. Patrick Fullerton, the CEO and Founder of OPTAC-X. “That patient survived to the hospital and discharged from the intensive care unit. Cardiac arrest has about a 10 percent survival rate outside of the hospital, so this was a great example of OPTAC-X technology making a life-changing contribution…”

Although the technology shows promise for use by EMS personnel and hospitals, could it be adapted to deliver benefits on the battlefield and in other emergency scenarios? The founders believe it could.

From ER to battlefield
Many of the same challenges EMS personnel face are also present on the battlefield. Time and expertise are limited. Conditions are suboptimal and resources are limited. If the OPTAC-X can improve outcomes in emergency medicine, it should be able to do so for battlefield medicine. And, with the OPTAC-X solution capable of leveraging satellite communications to deliver telehealth services within the U.S., it should be able to deliver similar capabilities anywhere else on the globe where satellite connectivity is available.

“…we need to get patients from the point of injury or the point of illness to the hospital as expeditiously but as safely as possible. But that window of time, that transport window, is where we have a bit of a black box. It’s a data vacuum.” – Dr. Christopher Russi

“Telehealth solutions can enable military medics to quickly consult with trauma surgeons or other specialists, ensuring that lifesaving interventions—such as managing hemorrhages, airway control, or resuscitation—are performed as quickly as possible with the best available guidance,” said Dr. Fullerton. “Moreover, telehealth systems help optimize the use of medevac resources by providing accurate assessments from the field, avoiding unnecessary strain on medical logistics, and preventing overcrowding in combat support hospitals.”

Satellite-enabled telehealth would also be beneficial in areas other than the battlefield, including disaster and emergency response scenarios.

“In emergency scenarios, including natural disasters and terror attacks, terrestrial networks may be down, leaving EMS and first responders without comms,” said Dr. Fullerton. “Leveraging satellite communications for telehealth capabilities enables emergency response personnel to provide medical care to those in the field who need it. They can literally have the best specialists on-site quickly. And that’s essential since early intervention saves lives.”

In medical emergencies – whether a soldier is wounded on the battlefield, or a citizen is injured in an accident or a national emergency – getting rapid, quality, specialized care to them could be the difference between life and death. Adopting advanced telehealth solutions using satellite communications can be the key to timely administering this life-saving care – increasing survivability and improving outcomes.

Featured image: The U.S. Army Medical Department Center and School demonstrate a real world MEDEVAC mission at MacArthur Field, Joint Base San Antonio. (U.S. Army photo by Francis S. Trachta)

The post New Satellite-Enabled Telehealth Solutions Deliver Quality Care to the Tactical Edge appeared first on SES Space and Defense.

One of the military’s industry partners working to define a new paradigm for satcom ground resiliency is ALL.SPACE, which is launching the world’s first full-performance multi-orbit, multi-link SMART terminal. Recently, Chief Commercial Officer Scott Sprague shared his thoughts on the military’s changing requirements and how ALL.SPACE is leading the charge for a more resilient and flexible ground segment.

Government Satellite Report (GSR): Can you tell our readers a bit about ALL.SPACE. What types of solutions does the company develop, and what markets does it serve?

Scott Sprague: We’re a pre-revenue deep tech company building a smart terminal specifically focused on supporting the warfighter. We offer a unique solution that has never been fielded before –  a terminal that communicates with multiple satellites in different constellations simultaneously. Our initial market focus is the defense market – specifically, the U.S. government, NATO, and Five Eyes countries (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom, and the United States). As we evolve our technology from a volume and cost perspective, we’ll start to look at serving other commercially-defined markets.

GSR: What is a Smart Terminal? How is this technology different from the terminals and antennas that the military is currently utilizing?

Scott Sprague: Most of what the military has fielded today, other than at the very highest end of the market with large defense contractors, has been single-beam parabolic technology. Those antennas are very efficient at talking to a single geostationary satellite at one time, but do not support the US military’s desire to communicate with multiple satellites and orbits and across multiple bands simultaneously.

Our new SMART terminal allows us to have multiple, full-performance links so that when you turn on an additional link, it doesn’t affect the performance of the first link, and you can communicate with different satellite assets across different orbits simultaneously. That means the military can provide a very high level of resiliency across their communication paths.

If you think about what’s going on recently with the conflict in the Ukraine, where Russia has been able to jam and interrupt communication networks, or how China is utilizing technology to disable satellites in orbit, the ability to be able to communicate with multiple satellites over different orbital constellations provides a level of security that hasn’t been possible before.

GSR: We continue to hear the military talk about the need for multi-orbit and multi-band satellite communications. What trends and challenges are driving these requirements in the military today?

Scott Sprague: If you think about satellite industry over the last decade, it was predominantly GEO-based satellite assets – Ku, Ka, C, and some X-band. The only non-geostationary assets other than military assets were on SES’s O3b MEO constellation. So, the government had limited options to utilize multiple assets simultaneously to provide resiliency in their networks.

But over the last few years, with the launch of new constellations at LEO, and with SES’s new O3b mPOWER MEO satellites coming into play, the government is afforded a vast variety of satellite assets that they can utilize from a commercial perspective to augment what they have on the government side, both in LEO but also in GEO to provide a more resilient network for the warfighter.

But to do that, there needs to be changes on the ground segment on the terminal side. The military needs terminal assets that would allow them to use these different satellite constellations. That’s what had been lagging behind until the development of the ALL.SPACE SMART terminal range.

GSR: What would true multiband multi-orbit comms look like for the military? What kind of impact would it have on warfighters at the tip of the spear?

Scott Sprague: Today’s warfighter must field more pieces of equipment to communicate with all the constellations available to them over Ku and Ka-band. Theoretically, a deployment could have up to five or ten different satellite terminals in the field that would help them facilitate communication to multiple satellite assets. Or, they would have to switch out hardware in the field associated with a single parabolic.

A true multi-band, multi-beam terminal significantly simplifies what’s fielded to support resilient communications. That’s important because increasingly, enlisted soldiers, not trained communications specialists, must deploy these communication devices in the field. So, simplifying the ground side still allows organizations to quickly deploy technology and access multiple satellite assets.

This plug-and-play capability is critical to the seamless deployment of both multi-orbit multi-band satellite communication assets as well as ground infrastructure. And that really is the focus of ALL.SPACE and the ALL.SPACE SMART terminal: to facilitate that very quick and seamless deployment of a resilient satellite-based communication network.

GSR: What is needed to make this concept of multi-band, multi-orbit satellite communications a reality? Does it require changes in the ground segment? Space segment?

Scott Sprague: When you think of the goal of being able to access a multi-band, multi-orbit satellite communications network, the reality is that the satellites are there today, but by design, they do not talk to each other.. To be able to leverage those satellite assets, things needed to change on the ground with a terminal that would allow an end user to access those different satellite networks simultaneously, bringing that information back to a central device, and then consolidating and managing that information via the intelligence inherent in a smart terminal.

GSR: We’re seeing a proliferation of new satellite constellations and new orbits. Why are services like these exciting for the military and why would a service like O3b mPOWER be used for today’s military and the military’s modern requirements?

Scott Sprague: The proliferation of new constellations, including new non-geostationary constellations, brings a set of capabilities to the U.S. military that never existed before now. LEO networks have very low latency, high throughput, and mostly global coverage. Those satellites can support some of the evolving use cases that the warfighter has.

When you look at SES’s O3b mPOWER network, it combines both low latency and very high throughput. It also has extreme flexibility given the smart design of the O3b mPOWER satellites that allow end users to move capacity and coverage around on a case-by-case basis. With thousands of beams associated with the O3b mPOWER network, it provides unprecedented coverage and flexibility to warfighters.

Another unique feature of the O3b mPOWER network is you can go from terminal to terminal, and you don’t have to go back to a gateway. Why is that important? It adds resiliency and security into the network for the warfighter. Think about the ability to go ship to ship directly via an O3b mPOWER link. That kind of capability is extremely powerful for the US Navy. As previously mentioned, our focus at ALL.SPACE is to support the defense market first and foremost. Having a multi-orbit communication package that can be supported with a single ground terminal will allow communications across allied forces utilizing similar dispersed ground networks. When you look at O3b mPOWER, the ability to communicate from terminal to terminal definitely supports that type of inter-operational communication between allies.

GSR: Can ALL.SPACE terminals work with O3b mPOWER, and what advantages will the military receive from leveraging both our terminal and the O3b network?

Scott Sprague: The ALL.SPACE terminal is designed and configured to work with O3b mPOWER.  Our terminal’s advantage is when it’s coupled with the O3b mPOWER network, it can communicate directly with O3b mPOWER, while at the same time simultaneously being connected to a GEO satellite, whether that’s a commercial GEO satellite or over government-owned geostationary satellite like WGS. And again, that gives a tremendous amount of resiliency and end-user flexibility in choosing which satellite assets to use to support their missions.

With the O3b mPOWER network coming into play, our ALL.SPACE terminal is very easy to deploy on a global basis. So, whether our terminal is on board a ship or on top of a U.S. or allied vehicle, it’s very easy to deploy to give users immediate access to the O3b mPOWER network.

The post ALL.SPACE CCO on Redefining the Ground Segment with Smarter, More Flexible, Multi-link Connectivity appeared first on SES Space and Defense.

To learn more about how the DoD will leverage the BPA, how it fits into the movement towards an integrated MILSATCOM and COMSATCOM space architecture, as well as how commercial partnerships played a role in delivering this global solution, the Government Satellite Report sat down with Hugh Keane, Senior BD Manager at SES Space & Defense.

GSR: This BPA – which was awarded through DISA and Space Force – essentially gives military organizations a contract vehicle to procure military X-Band COMSATCOM services. What types of organizations and services within the military do you anticipate utilizing this BPA? Why would these military organizations need access to this capability?

Hugh Keane: We see several types of organizations using this BPA. At the combatant command level, we see various use cases for X-Band as part of PACE (Primary, Alternate, Contingency, and Emergency) communications plans for main operating bases, or as a resource that they can distribute to their component users through something like a Satellite Access Request model – whether that’s for exercises or real-world missions.

For the services, some are already users of X-Band on well-established contract vehicles. We see the X-Band BPA as being able to support those users on proof-of-concept work or for short-term requirements that may lie outside the scope of their usual contracting mechanisms.

This vehicle is creating a simple path for all U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) end-users to get access to X-Band, whether that’s raw megahertz capacity or full end-to-end services. And it is the first time that such a vehicle has existed to give this type of X-Band access to the DoD and its end-users. It’s really going to facilitate rapid time-to-order and time-to-activate for those X-Band services.

Many of the organizations are equipped with hardware that will work on WGS in X-Band. So, depending on the mission of the individual end-user, they might not always have priority on WGS. The X-Band BPA will provide an avenue for them to get service without having to change out expensive equipment sets and move to Ka or Ku, for example.

There are also those missions that do require the capabilities that are either inherent to the frequency range of X-Band itself, or some of the capabilities that are inherent to those X-Band satellites.

GSR:  Why is military X-Band important? What differentiates military X-Band from commercial Ka or Ku-band satellite services? Why would this be important for the DoD?

Hugh Keane: Military X-Band is important in many ways. It’s in wide use today because of the WGS satellites and there are many X-Band terminals out there, whether they are land, maritime, or aero terminals. The nature of WGS – and with a finite set of WGS satellites – means there’s not always sufficient capacity to fulfill all user requirements. As such, X-Band on commercial satellites supplements WGS very well, allowing those lower-priority missions to have non-preemptible capacity.

It also provides a greater battle space in which the DoD can operate with enhanced resiliency, by having access to both the military and the commercial X-Band satellites. In addition to that, one of the great advantages of the X-Band frequency spectrum, itself, is that it provides highly reliable and high link availability communications in regions where Ku band and Ka band might struggle due to the high rain fade. In fact, this makes it possibly the best solution in certain parts of the world.

“All the geographic combatant commands have access to X-Band capacity within their areas of responsibility (AOR) through the BPA…” -Hugh Keane

Also, given that X-Band is reserved for military and government use, the satellites themselves tend to be equipped with greater security than purely commercial satellites. With features like highly secure TTNC encryption, anti-jamming capabilities, and – in certain cases on some of the satellites – hardening against nuclear attack. All these features combined, contribute to the resiliency and the availability of the communications links, and as such, they become a bit more desirable for ”no-fail” missions.

GSR: SES Space & Defense has called the service that it’s offering the DoD a “global satellite capacity.” Is this solution truly global? Are there any locations or geographies where the solution will not be available?

Hugh Keane: The service offers the DoD global satellite capacity. All the geographic combatant commands have access to X-Band capacity within their areas of responsibility (AOR) through the BPA and there are multiple coverage options in many locations of significant activity; apart from a small gap in coverage in the Pacific. With regard to that, we will continue to explore options and opportunities throughout the life of the BPA to provide even greater coverage and alternative coverage as the customers need.

GSR: To deliver on this contract, SES Space & Defense claims to have, “partnered with several industry-leading players, including integrators, SATCOM, and teleport operators.” What does this mean? Why was a partnership with these other industry partners necessary to deliver a global solution for the military?

Hugh Keane: SES has a great X-Band asset capability in GovSat-1. This is a relatively new satellite launched in 2018 and it provides good, flexible coverage through both fixed and steerable beams for all types of missions,  whether maritime, land, or aero missions in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.

However, those regions demand flexibility, redundancy, and alternative solutions so we look to our trusted industry partners for additional capacity. And in part, the SES acquisition of DRS GES plays a role here, due to GES’ background as an integrator, and also as a long-term provider of end-to-end X-Band services to their customers.

Drawing on those relationships, we created partnerships to have access to all the commercially available X-Band fleets. That includes partnerships with XTAR for access to the XTAR LANT and EUR satellites, Airbus for access to Skynet, and also the future Syracuse satellites – Syracuse 4A and 4B. And with Anuvu for access to other satellites and their Holmdel teleport. On the teleport side, we have access to multiple teleports, with partners at Telespazio, Santander, MBS, and USEI that deliver services in every combatant command AOR.

“One of the great benefits of the BPA is its flexibility of the broad scope it has when it comes to the provision of X-Band and its enabling elements.” -Hugh Keane

The whole globe is covered in terms of teleport requirements. We also have a number of major antenna providers enabling access to a range of terminals, whether commercial grade terminals or a full build spec standard terminal – depending on what the customer requires.

However, not all those capabilities reside in-house, that’s why we  partnered with several industry-leading players in order to offer the government the most comprehensive solution. The BPA also provides capacity throughout the life of the vehicle to update capabilities, so we can add new beams and new teleports as they become available.

GSR: What will the DoD need to utilize this global X-Band service? Will it have to buy specialized equipment and hardware – new antenna and terminal solutions?

Hugh Keane: One of the great benefits of the BPA is its flexibility of the broad scope it has when it comes to the provision of X-Band and its enabling elements. Through the BPA, we can simply provide raw megahertz of X-Band and we can provide end-to-end X-Band services. That is the space segment, the commercial teleport, and the terrestrial transport.

We can also lease or sell X-Band terminals. Because of WGS, if the user has an X-Band terminal that they use on WGS, they can utilize said terminal. The customer doesn’t need to buy any new equipment. And we can provide them with the service through the existing assets that they have, whether that’s simply bandwidth, or perhaps they also want to use that asset and access a commercial teleport and then have terrestrial backhaul to their home enterprise if needed.

Because of the flexibility of the BPA, if the customer doesn’t have the terminal today, or if they need to supplement terminals – we can provide them the full remote equipment set from scratch, both with buy and lease options. It’s very flexible.

In the end, if the customer already has the equipment, that’s great! We can provide them the services as they need it. But if they don’t have the equipment and they need access to it, we can do that as well.

GSR: How does this BPA play a role in the movement towards adopting the integrated MILSATCOM and COMSATCOM architecture that the DoD has been talking about for the past decade?

Hugh Keane: It certainly plays a role. We need to praise the U.S. Space Force for putting this BPA in place. Before we had this BPA, we worked with various DoD partners to provide an architecture that enabled roaming between WGS and COMSATCOM X-Band and that also included the provision of commercial teleports and peripheral backhaul.

“The BPA will have a positive effect – it allows rapid access to commercial X-Band satellite capacity and its enabling elements, not to mention greatly expands the capability sets of the DoD.” -Hugh Keane

I will say, though, in establishing the BPA, Space Force has now created an avenue that never existed before and is allowing all DoD users to access that type of service and capability for the integration of those MILSATCOM and COMSATCOM architectures. This is really enabled in the BPA allowing reduced time-to-order and time-to-activation of services. Space Force has greatly facilitated this integration by putting this vehicle in place.

GSR: What effect will the addition of this commercial global X-Band satellite capacity have on the military’s satellite architecture? Will it make it more secure? More assured? Why or why not?

Hugh Keane: The BPA will have a positive effect – it allows rapid access to commercial X-Band satellite capacity and its enabling elements, not to mention greatly expands the capability sets of the DoD. They now have COMSATCOM assets along with the ground infrastructure available in every AOR that can supplement and indeed work in tandem with WGS. By having that they increase the availability and resiliency of their communications pathways through access to a greater range of satellites, and ground assets.

To learn more about the Global X-Band BPA, read the official press release HERE.

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This new BPA will give the DoD access to an X-band communications satellite network capable of delivering assured, secure satellite connectivity in support of missions being conducted in virtually any location on the globe.

To deliver a near-global solution, SES Space & Defense has partnered with several industry-leading players, including integrators, SATCOM, and teleport operators. Together, the contracted satellite operators will deliver Global X-Band satellite capacity, teleport and network services over a highly secure global terrestrial network, and other ancillary services to meet enduring and emerging DoD requirements.

To provide secure satellite communications services, one of the many satellites that SES Space & Defense will leverage is the multi-mission GovSat-1 satellite.

“SES Space & Defense believes the BPA is one of the foundation blocks in accelerating MILSATCOM-COMSATCOM integration for the space enterprise. The US Space Force established this contract as a mechanism to enable access to commercial X-band capacity globally for the DoD,” said SES Space & Defense President and CEO David Fields.

The Global X-Band BPA is the first integration services agreement awarded to SES Space & Defense since the acquisition of DRS GES by SES was finalized in August 2022. SES Space & Defense is dedicated to delivering the most trusted end-to-end global communications through a fully integrated Information and Communications Technology Ecosystem to the U.S. government and military.

“We have partnered with industry-leading X-Band owners and operators as we understand the demand for secure, non-preemptible mission-assured capacity for critical operations,” Fields explained. “By combining satellite capacity, SATCOM services can achieve the highest availability with redundant X-Band coverage and diverse gateway connectivity within sovereign space.”

To learn more about this revolutionary BPA announcement, click HERE.

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During our discussion, we asked Ram about the challenges that an austere space domain creates for the DoD, the technological challenges that the military faces when trying to integrate satellite networks with coalition and industry partners, and what some industry leaders are doing to make the seamless management of unified global networks a possibility for our military.

One of the advancements and innovative solutions available to the United States Department of Defense (DoD) is the Information & Communications Technology (ICT) Portal, a recently-released application that can enable military users to see their entire network – including both space and ground assets – on a single pane of glass. This new solution gives the military transparency into everything on their networks and allows for the easier management and operations of both terrestrial and space network assets and capabilities.

In the second part of our conversation with Ram, we asked specifically about the ICT Portal – what functionality it offers, how it can help the DoD, and what it will enable for the warfighter.

Government Satellite Report (GSR): In our last discussion, you talked about the sheer number of different space and ground networks that the DoD needs to see and manage as they work to integrate their own space assets with those of coalition and industry partners. How does the lack of a single, all-encompassing view of the network impact the military’s ability to manage its networks to overcome denied or disrupted capabilities or services? How does this impact the warfighter in the field?

Ram Rao: I have heard every high-ranking official in our military discuss the need to increase the speed of delivery and the speed of operations. But to accomplish this, they need end-to-end communications and data-centric global networks.

They are also looking to reduce the latency in satellite networks from the 600ms offered by satellites in Geosynchronous Orbit (GEO) to the 150-50ms offered by satellites in Lower Earth Orbit (LEO) and Medium Earth Orbit (MEO).

Timing is everything for warfighters. It’s no surprise that our adversaries are working towards pursuing efficient delivery capabilities. To continue to compete and win in the future, we need to remain faster and more effective despite their efforts.

“The ICT Portal is a web-based NetOps set of tools providing end-to-end situational awareness in a consumable “single pane of glass” user interface.” – Ram Rao

Global integration of our networks is crucial for seamless connectivity from one end of Earth to the other through various space and ground connections. The lack of a unified network will significantly and adversely impact the speed at which we deliver information and capabilities to warfighters, drastically reducing their effectiveness. However, with an integrated, resilient network – and agreed-upon access – there should not be any denials or disruptions.

GSR: What is the Information & Communications Technology (ICT) Portal? What was the initial concept and intention for the portal? What tools or capabilities does the ICT Portal give to military and government users?

Ram Rao: The ICT Portal is a flagship capability we offer to our customers and mission partners as a part of our network solutions. The ICT Portal is a web-based NetOps set of tools providing end-to-end situational awareness in a consumable “single pane of glass” user interface. The consolidated network visibility provides our mission partners something they generally don’t have with COMSATCOM networks – a near real-time view into the network.

Even when COMSATCOM networks work in tandem with MILSATCOM networks, the ICT Portal gives users a view of their space segment, teleports, gateways, hubs, and terrestrial circuits – all the way to the individual user terminals.

The ICT Portal offers users five views into their network – each with multiple capabilities. These capabilities and functionality include an operational dashboard, terminal console, capacity management tool, and reporting tools. Within each capability view are a variety of sub-views, each with dozens or sometimes hundreds of data points to observe, filter, and use to improve the understanding of the SATCOM network.

“Our ICT Portal’s satellite coverage overlays allow users to see both EIRP and G/T maps of the satellite coverage in their network. The intent of this capability is to show users their satellite coverage within the deployment area.” – Ram Rao

SES Space & Defense’s intention has always been to support our mission partners with capabilities that deliver complete visibility and transparency into their networks and provide the situational awareness required to make timely, informed decisions.

GSR: Can you provide an example of how and why the ICT Portal could be useful to the military doing a mission or operation? What could it enable them to do?

Ram Rao: Our ICT Portal’s satellite coverage overlays allow users to see both EIRP and G/T maps of the satellite coverage in their network. The intent of this capability is to show users their satellite coverage within the deployment area.

This enables them to know – before they deploy – the minimum terminal specification required in that location. For example, if they are in the 50 dBW contour, they will need a minimum of a 1.2-meter antenna with a four-watt BUC. Users can also select multiple footprints to see where they have overlapping or redundant coverage. This capability immensely helps quick and efficient planning.

Another useful example is our VSAT Point Assist tool. While it is best practice to always do a site survey prior to deploying a VSAT terminal, we understand that it’s not always possible for DoD missions. The VSAT Point Assist tool provides field techs with a way to do site surveys virtually.

“We are continually working with our customers to improve and expand the capabilities of the ICT Portal.” – Ram Rao

The VSAT Point Assist tool allows users to input a location and choose a satellite. It then generates an estimated pointing angle and provides other necessary information, such as elevation and azimuth angles. Users can also drag the icon to different locations to ensure a clear path to the satellite.

The goal is to enable the military to conduct site surveys without a physical presence in theater and save significant time and costs while allowing them to better prepare for missions in advance.

Another useful example I’ll share is the ICT Portal Weather Overlay capability, which offers more than 150 different options of illustrating near real-time, historical, and forecasted weather information. This tool allows users to select as many of these events as they want and add them to the active list – such as active fire points, lightning strikes, tropical cyclones, and other live weather events. They can even see hurricanes and their paths.

These overlays are essential to improve situational awareness for our warfighters. It allows them to visualize how rain, snow, or ice may affect satellite connections and identify any alternatives they may have.

GSR: Is the ICT Portal available today? If not, when will it be available? Also, who will be able to utilize it?

Ram Rao: The ICT Portal is available today for SES Space & Defense network customers and is being utilized by some of our current government partners.

We are continually working with our customers to improve and expand the capabilities of the ICT Portal. We have an extensive road map to add new capabilities and features to the ICT Portal, including AI/ML capabilities, a complete cyber monitoring package, and fully customizable reporting packages. We also plan to enable select mission partners to control portions of the network as needed for critical mission success.

To learn more about the SES Space & Defense ICT Portal or request a demonstration, click HERE.

The post The SES Space & Defense ICT Portal – Meeting Military Transparency and Network Management Requirements for Multi-Domain Operations appeared first on SES Space and Defense.

Most recently, the U.S. Army announced its integrated ground terminal, Phoenix E-Model, would serve Expeditionary Signal Battalion – Enhanced (ESB-E) formations with the likelihood of expanding operations from traditional Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) satellites to leveraging commercial Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) constellations. In this framework, SES Space and Defense, in close cooperation with Lite Coms, carried out extensive work to update the legacy US Army Phoenix Terminal to be MEO capable (AN/TSC-156(E) for the U.S. Army. The resultant Lite Sat 2.2A terminal delivers 50Mbs on a Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) GEO network and up to 600×600 Mbps on SES’s O3b MEO system.

Leveraging MEO satellite technologies provides the modern warfighter the resiliency, high- bandwidth, and low-latency required for mission assurance in contested environments against advanced adversaries.

“MEO satellites are unique in their capabilities and SES operates the world’s only commercial MEO satellite constellation,” said President and CEO of SES Space and Defense, Brigadier General Pete Hoene, USAF (retired). “Early next year, SES will launch its second-generation MEO system, O3b mPOWER, which promises to meet and exceed the connectivity requirements of today’s warfighting technologies – delivering flexible and secure fiber-like connectivity anywhere the mission requires.”

In alignment with the Army’s stance on MDO, multi-orbit SATCOM solutions that leverage MEO significantly extend the Army’s ability to securely transport data between the command post, soldiers-on-the-move, as well as multiple sensors in support of Joint All Domain Command and Control (JADC2). As the Army increasingly relies on data and network-enabled platforms for deployed warfighters, having interoperable communication systems that are flexible and assured is essential to capturing a common operating picture (COP) for multi-domain operations.

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