Put plainly, the demonstration conducted by ThinKom, SES, and Hughes effectively illustrated the ability for an end satellite user to seamlessly roam between satellite services originating in different orbits and leveraging different frequency bands.

To learn more about why this multi-orbit and multi-band capability is becoming increasingly essential for U.S. military users, we reached out to Ben Pigsley, the Senior Vice President of Defense Networks at SES Space & Defense.

During our discussion with Ben, we asked about the trends driving the U.S. military to embrace commercial satellite communications (COMSATCOM) from multiple orbits, the maturity and availability of multi-orbit and multi-band satellite services, and what both the government and satellite industry need to do to make this capability readily available for the warfighter.

Government Satellite Report: Can you define multi-band satellite for our readers? How is it different from multi-orbit satellite?

Ben Pigsley: Simply put, when two or more satellites are operating in different earth orbits – such as Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) or Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO) – and are operating in the same frequency band, it is considered multi-orbit. When two or more satellites are operating in the same orbit – such as GEO, MEO, or Lower Earth Orbit (LEO) – but are operating in different frequency bands – such as Ku, Ka, C, or X – it is considered multi-band.

Both scenarios offer an added level of resiliency to a satellite network if you have the ground equipment to take advantage of the capability.

GSR: Why is multi-band satellite capacity crucial for the U.S. military? Why is multi-orbit crucial? Why does the military need its satellite architecture to include both?

Ben Pigsley: Today, the military is facing near-peer adversaries that have demonstrated their ability to disrupt, deny, and degrade our communications networks. In today’s environment, government networks are both congested and contested with deliberate and directed jamming, cyberattacks, and kinetic attacks.

Both multi-orbit and multi-band network solutions offer an elevated level of resiliency and increase availability to government customers. Higher availability is critical to the command-and-control networks operated by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD).

GSR: What trends are we seeing – and what capabilities are we seeing from our adversaries – that make the creation of a multi-orbit, multi-band satellite architecture essential?

Ben Pigsley: I’ll go back to the fact that networks today are both congested and contested. Network congestion can cause unwanted disruptions due to what we refer to as “blue-on-blue” interference. This occurs when satellite transponders and networks are heavily loaded and one “friendly” network causes problems for another “friendly network” due to equipment malfunctions, improper equipment settings, and other unintentional actions.

“…increased resiliency in network design allows operations to continue either on another satellite in a different orbit, or on another satellite in a different band in the same orbit.” – Ben Pigsley

Contested commercial networks arise from adversaries with sophisticated, aggressive jamming techniques. In both cases, increased resiliency in network design allows operations to continue either on another satellite in a different orbit, or on another satellite in a different band in the same orbit.

GSR: What different elements or segments comprise the end-to-end network or infrastructure needed for effective multi-band and multi-orbit operation?

Ben Pigsley: Other than having the right space segment design, the most critical part of a highly resilient network is state-of-the-art ground terminals that can rapidly switch bands and orbits with minimal or no interaction from the operator.

Additionally, a sophisticated ground network infrastructure that incorporates a Software Defined – Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) is crucial. The addition of machine learning and artificial intelligence in the network are also key to the effective use of multi-band and multi-orbit networks.

GSR: Is the COMSATCOM industry ready to support multi-band and multi-orbit operation? What new technologies or equipment is necessary to enable this? When will that become available?

Ben Pigsley: Yes, the military’s industry partners are ready to support both multi-band and multi-orbit operations. In fact, leading operators like SES Space & Defense already provide these services using SD-WAN architectures delivering high-availability networks.

This is happening within all constellations — GEO, MEO, and LEO — supporting all types of government and military operations.

“Using the ICT Portal, military users can see the impact of network events and gain general situational awareness that can help key decision-makers make more data-driven, informed decisions.” – Ben Pigsley

It should be noted that ground terminal development has lagged the space segment development in this area. However, we see new terminal designs coming into the market every day that can take advantage of multi-band and multi-orbit operations.

GSR: Have there been any exciting advancements or tests done recently that show multi-band, multi-orbit capability may soon be on the horizon?

Ben Pigsley: We began testing and demonstrating multi-band and multi-orbit network designs in 2021. We implemented our designs with key customers at the end of 2022 and we continue to gather availability and performance statistics to help us make informed decisions on improvements to our networks.

Additionally, we’ve developed a customer portal – the ICT Portal – that is capable of tracking network performance in real time.  This capability enables our customers to see their networks in real time and make informed decisions on network loading. Using the ICT Portal, military users can see the impact of network events and gain general situational awareness that can help key decision-makers make more data-driven, informed decisions.

GSR: What can the government do to speed up the development of multi-band and multi-orbit capability from the COMSATCOM industry?

Ben Pigsley: I think the government is headed in the right direction with new requirements like SATCOM as a Managed Service (SaaMS), which does not specify specific orbits or frequency bands.  This allows industry to come up with creative solutions, which will likely include multi-orbit and multi-band offerings.

“In today’s environment, government networks are both congested and contested with deliberate and directed jamming, cyberattacks, and kinetic attacks. Both multi-orbit and multi-band network solutions offer an elevated level of resiliency and increase availability to government customers.” – Ben Pigsley

My suggestion is to continue and increase government interaction with industry so that future government requirements are clearly understood by industry.

GSR: What role can systems integrators and managed service providers play in delivering multi-band and multi-orbit implementations?

Ben Pigsley: Multi-band and multi-orbit networks require coordination and cooperation within industry. The most effective multi-orbit and multi-band network designs will include integrated solutions from multiple satellite operators, multiple terminal manufacturers, and multiple terrestrial network providers.

Industry can define ways to automate “roaming” from network to network, including orbits and frequencies, and develop system interfaces to orchestrate provisioning, operations, and billing of services. This type of coordination and cooperation can happen with both operators and integrators.

The post The Importance of Multi-Orbit, Multi-Band COMSATCOM for the DoD appeared first on SES Space and Defense.

During one session at the event, SES Government Solutions’ (SES GS) Director of BD Engineering, Technologies and Solutions, Ram Rao, had the opportunity to address conference attendees on some of the next-generation solutions that are enabling greater visibility into militaries’ technology networks, and discuss how these emerging capabilities can advance U.S. Department of Defense (DoD missions and deliver critical, decision-making information and data at speed.

Network visibility at speed
In the past, the U.S. military has not had a capability to render big-picture visibility of all DoD information, communications, and technology networks. For example, if one branch of the DoD had a network of 500 end-to-end connections, there has never been a solution or means to have a high level, holistic view of all connections in one window for review. And this is a challenge that the U.S. military is looking to remedy.

There is immense value in being able to automatically drill down to individual network connections and dissect each part of an end-to-end connection. If military networks employed such automated capabilities, it would eliminate the laborious and time-consuming legwork of manually monitoring every network connection.

Instead of dedicating valuable manhours that manual monitoring requires, the DoD can employ automated solutions that constantly scan, examine, and provide feedback on all connections. These new technologies can also provide views that scale down to the individual satellite, teleport, and connection, as well as scale up to high-level, holistic vantage points of the entire network. Processes that used to take days of laborious network scanning and monitoring has now evolved into automated near real-time – if not real-time – feedback and visibility of a network and all the connections it houses.

Besting the adversary through real-time monitoring
Aside from the benefits that DoD network operators could gain from an optimized visibility solution, it’s critical that the speed at which mission goals are delivered always remains a priority. According to Rao, “When we listen to all the high-ranking officials, five-star generals – all the way down to the hands-on people – in the military, the one thing they’re talking about is ‘speed of delivery’ and real-time processing, because every second matters when we are trying to defend ourselves or offend our enemies.”

Rao went on to explain that being the first to make decisions in a time of defensive or offensive crises is of the utmost importance to the DoD. The only way high-ranking officials can be first to strike or defend depends on the data, intelligence, and communications they exchange between decisionmakers at headquarters and the warfighters on the battlefield.

“It’s about making the decision first, and who is first,” said Rao. “We don’t want to make decisions blindly. We want to hit intelligently. So, how do you intelligently do it? If every link and connection is up and running, the data is flowing from the end-users to the headquarters, where all our decisionmakers are sitting. Through automated networking monitoring solutions that ensure assured communications and connectivity, they will have real-time data available to them and can quickly make decisions.”

Network visibility and JADC2
Network performance monitoring solutions that grant wider visibility into military networks will most certainly support the DoD’s overarching Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) project. According to the Congressional Research Service, JADC2 is a “concept to connect sensors from all of the military services—Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Space Force—into a single network.” DoD efforts that support network singularity, like JADC2, can give complete, high-level visibility into a conglomeration of various network capabilities that enable decisionmakers to advance missions.

Overarching network performance solutions that can drill down to individual views and subviews of a singular network connection is game-changing for a concept like JADC2. Allowing DoD decisionmakers to gain visibility into thousands of different network data points in a streamlined and consolidated interface can ensure that the U.S. military is always one step ahead of the adversary.

The soon-to-come ICT Portal
According to Rao, SES GS is hard at work on a soon-to-be-released solution that will deliver those network performance monitoring capabilities to the U.S. military. SES GS’ Information, Communications, and Technologies (ICT) Portal will do just that.

Rao describes the ICT Portal as a spokesperson for DoD networks. “The ICT Portal will be a window that will enable visibility into the network’s capabilities, how it is built, and how it is operating,” said Rao. “This will deliver complete resiliency to military networks, and support the DoD’s JADC2 initiative.”

“The platform will provide visibility on a single pane of glass to government end-users, and give a holistic view into networks from an end-to-end connectivity point of view,” said Rao.

To learn about the role other emerging technologies, such as AI/ML, will play in the future of MILSATCOM, click HERE.

The post How next-gen performance monitoring solutions will deliver greater visibility into DoD networks appeared first on SES Space and Defense.

Penney began the forum by explaining that today’s Air Force warfighters employ a fixed set of capabilities and software that were decided upon “at least five years ago, if not longer.” But to outpace U.S. adversaries, Penney argues that “warfighters must have the ability to tailor their systems and networks to optimize their force package for any given objective.”

One of the key findings of Penney’s study is that there is a need for rapid adaptation of “blue forces” in order to accelerate change. Through her research, she was able to identify three principles that would facilitate this adaptive change.

The first is speed. Adaptation must be faster than “old blue,” and outpace U.S. adversaries’ levels of speed and adaptation.

The second principle is that adaptive changes must provide real operational benefit. Penney stated, “It doesn’t have to be perfect. Just better.” She also explained that operational benefits must be relevant to the competitive context.

The final principle Penney’s research identified was that adaptive change must “impose confounding effects upon the adversary and confer resilient complexity to friendly forces.” Adaptive changes must block effective targeting of blue forces by U.S. adversaries.

Penney pointed out that future operational concepts like multi-domain or all domain operations and Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) seek to harness these principles. According to Penney, the key to harnessing these principles can be found in how the Air Force uses weapon systems and aircraft in “new and creative ways.”

Additionally, operational architectures, how the Air Force fights, what they have in the battle space, and their interdependencies will be the main points of adaptive advantage. Battle networks and data links are the base of how the Air Force fights. And, according to Penney, “This will only increase in the future.”

The Air Force will also need to be able to adapt its architectures faster than U.S. adversaries can attack them. And at the heart of this adaptation are mission integration tools.

Unfortunately, there is one major barrier standing in the way of fully realizing this adaptation and mission integration. Penney explained that the primary roadblock to being able to field these software tools is bureaucratic policy.

According to Penney the “color of money,” is the first bureaucratic policy barrier. She explained, “The funding categories are fundamentally ill suited for the pace of software development. The rate at which we obligate money for different activities, and the limitations we have on who can spend what for what prevents us from fielding software tools.”

We must address these bureaucratic barriers to fielding mission integration software tools that can provide our forces an adaptive advantage.” – Heather Penney

The second barrier is a lack of a dedicated system program office. Data links are typically managed as part of the overall capability package of the major weapon system. Penney explained, “They’re subjugated to those developmental and monetization timelines and program priorities. Too often, mission integration falls below the cut line.”

The final barrier to adaptive change is the need for data link architecture to reflect operational concepts. Because different kinds of data links are incompatible, there is a need to translate and optimize heterogenous connectivity. And due to network terminals being static, change is difficult.

To accelerate change, Penney argued, “We must address these bureaucratic barriers to fielding mission integration software tools that can provide our forces an adaptive advantage.”

Currently, the Air Force builds its network through systems engineering, which figures out how to best fit these fixed systems together. Instead, the Air Force should focus on moving towards a mission integration approach. According to Penney, there must be a shift from a “What can we do?” mindset, to a “What do we want to do?” approach. And the software tools that enable this adaptive approach already exist.

The first tool is DARPA’s System-of-systems Technology Integration Tool Chain for Heterogenous Electronic Systems (STITCHES) program. STITCHES enables message translation across different systems without changing message formatting or losing data, and it does not require a common standard.

Second, is DARPA’s Adapting Cross-domain Kill-webs (ACK) vision integration tool. ACK is a decision software that can analyze thousands of potential cross-domain kill webs to recommend the best mission-specific kill chain.

The last tool that Penney cited was DARPA’s Dynamic Network Adaptation for Mission Optimization (DyNAMO) program. DyNAMO is a program that automatically routes data to the user who needs it in real-time, and manages the flow and prioritization of data so that lower priority does not create a traffic jam for higher priority data.

Penney explained that the Air Force could start fielding these tools immediately, but bureaucratic policy roadblocks still stand in the way.

One bureaucratic policy barrier that Penney discussed was Congress’ creation of the Budget Activity 8 (BA 8) funding category, which is intended to capture the full lifecycle of software in one category. But, unfortunately, BA 8 cannot be applied to broad area announcements, which are critical contractual means for research agencies.

Another layer of complication is that research agencies are prevented from using any budget activity beyond BA 4. Essentially, research agencies like DARPA and the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) are constrained in how they can fund the development of software programs.

Mission integration tools also have challenges of their own pertaining to their transition to an operational community. Penney explained that the adaptive nature of these programs has been defined by General Counsel as research and development (R&D) or as Penney put it “3600 money.” She explained, “…3600 money cannot be programmed or obligated by an operational command like the Air Combat Command.”

In essence, the “color of money” is hindering speedy software development and is blocking these tools from reaching the warfighter. As a result, Air Force networks remain static and predictable, enabling the adversary’s strategy for victory.

No war was ever won by spreadsheet. It’s time we make the bureaucratic changes that will accelerate our operational change.” – Heather Penney

To remedy these challenges, Penney argued that research agencies need access to this funding, and they must have the option to do so using a broad area announcement.

Research agencies must also be able to streamline these software programs to the operational community “without necessarily requiring a full and open competition that extends the timeline to field and may not deliver the same code.”

Lastly, Penney called for operational commands to have a similar budget activity – like BA 8 – that enables them to “employ, sustain and evolve mission integration tools at the speed of software.”

“We need mission integration tools because they can connect and be the bridge between our legacy force, our current force, and our future force,” said Penney. “These mission integration tools can enable these kinds of operations today.”

She explained that the Air Force risks losing its ability to deter and win when in peer conflict due to bureaucratic policy. “We’re letting bean counters and administrative processes guide what we can field and how we can fight, not combat requirements,” said Penney. “No war was ever won by spreadsheet. It’s time we make the bureaucratic changes that will accelerate our operational change.”

To hear more from Heather Penney watch the Mitchell Institute event on-demand here!

The post How bureaucratic policy is enabling U.S. adversaries to outpace the Air Force appeared first on SES Space and Defense.

As part of the IDIQ contract, SES Space and Defense is tasked with the maturation, demonstration and proliferation of capability across platforms and domains, leveraging open systems design, modern software and algorithm development in order to enable Joint All Domain Command and Control (JADC2).

According to the Air Force, “…the ABMS will be the backbone of a network-centric approach in partnership with all the services across the Department of Defense…that will allow U.S. forces from all services—as well as allies—to receive, fuse and act upon a vast array of data and information in all domains at the speed of relevance.”

This command and control network will connect all forces in theater – as well as all military sensors and sources of information – to give decision-makers unprecedented and timely battlefield insight while delivering advanced network-enabled capabilities to the warfighter.

“Modern warfare demands data and information at the edge, anywhere on earth,” Chief of Space Operations, Gen. John “Jay” Raymond, recently explained to Charles Pope, Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs. “Potential adversaries are investing heavily in these fields, and we must exploit new approaches to sustain the advantage. We are exploring how to use JADC2 and ABMS to link sensors to shooters across all battlespaces, at speed, and under threat. Maturing these concepts and capabilities is necessary to fight and win in the information age.”

The IDIQ contract with SES Space and Defense will enable the Air Force to leverage the extensive SES multi-orbit and multi-band fleet to experiment, develop, and test data and connectivity capabilities from satellites at Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) and Geostationary Orbit (GEO). The ability to leverage high-throughput satellites (HTS) at GEO and MEO will deliver fiber-like connectivity to the battlefield, while providing additional resiliency and redundancy to mission-critical satellite communications.

“As the need for technology and data on the battlefield increases, so does the need to access resilient and robust high-performance connectivity from anywhere in the world,” said President and CEO of SES Space and Defense, Brigadier General Pete Hoene, USAF (retired). “The growing amount of sensor data, connected devices, and cloud computing done remotely at the tactical edge demands high throughput, low-latency connectivity that only a multi-orbit satellite solution can provide. By having the potential opportunity to be awarded task orders against this IDIQ, we’re excited to enable technological advancement at ABMS and keep our military at the forefront of innovation.”

The selection of SES Space and Defense to power the ABMS will not only give the Air Force access to the industry’s only HTS satellite constellation at Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) in the SES O3b MEO constellation, it also gives the Air Force access to a trusted partner with a long history of working collaboratively with the DoD on innovative satellite projects and implementations.

“SES Space and Defense has an extensive history of testing and developing cutting-edge connectivity solutions for the U.S. Air Force and joint requirements,” said Jim Hooper, Chief Commercial Officer of SES Space and Defense. “Opportunities like ABMS allows the Air Force to enhance their capabilities, but also for us to evolve our capabilities alongside. We want to make sure that every mission can access the full potential of our unique position in GEO and MEO, especially as we unlock more cloud computing and mobility connectivity solutions with the launch of our O3b mPOWER constellation.”

For additional information about the ABMS and the recent IDIQ contract awarded to SES Space and Defense, click HERE to read the official press release.

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