But why is there such a significant focus on satellite architecture resiliency that it’s one of the Space Force’s largest priorities for the coming year? One only has to look at some of the recent events involving satellite communications in Europe for an answer.

Today’s advanced military platforms and systems are all network and software enabled. These systems require connectivity to function as intended and meet warfighter requirements. And satellite is the best way to provide that connectivity in geographic locations where terrestrial networks are either denied, degraded, untrusted, or insecure – like many of the places where the military operates.

But satellite communications (SATCOM) deliver more than advanced IT capabilities to the warfighter. SATCOM is instrumental for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), and situational awareness. It’s also the main conduit for basic communications services in austere environments.

By distributing military signals over a wide ecosystem of military and commercial satellite resources, it becomes incredibly difficult for adversaries to identify which satellites are carrying military communications and deny them through jamming or kinetic attack.

The near-peer adversaries that America and its coalition partners are confronted with today know that satellite is fundamental and mission-critical for so many military operations. And they’ll do anything to deny access to the satellite services that are both basic necessity and force-multiplier.

We’ve seen this play out in real-time in the current situation in Eastern Europe. As fighting began, one of the first casualties was connectivity and communications from terrestrial networks. Then, the satellite service that was utilized to fill that communications void was almost immediately denied by the adversary.

Regardless of whether this communications disruption was meant to hinder military communications, capabilities, and coordination – or simply to cause confusion and a lack of reliable information for civilians – is secondary. It is evidence that denying satellite communications networks and infrastructure is now a large part of warfare – and will remain so into the future. This is why the military now considers space an austere environment and a warfighting domain.

Augmenting military satellite communications (MILSATCOM) with commercial satellite communications (COMSATCOM) has long been considered a solution for increasing resiliency. By distributing military signals over a wide ecosystem of military and commercial satellite resources, it becomes incredibly difficult for adversaries to identify which satellites are carrying military communications and deny them through jamming or kinetic attack.

Today’s advanced military platforms and systems are all network and software enabled. These systems require connectivity to function as intended and meet warfighter requirements. And satellite is the best way to provide that connectivity…

But what about coalition partners and allied nations with no readily available, purpose-built MILSATCOM architecture? How can they get immediate access to resilient, military-grade satellite communications should a threat arise?

These are exactly the types of situations that a new generation of commercial X-band satellite solutions was made for.

X-band on demand
X-band and military Ka-band satellite communications have long been trusted by the U.S. Department of Defense because of their reliability and resilience. As Patti Aston, a Senior Director at SES Space and Defense, recently explained to the Government Satellite Report, “…X-band [is] considered more reliable – or more mission-assured for critical operations. And when the lives of tactical operators and warfighters are on the line, the military doesn’t want to take the chance that there could be interference or signal loss.”

Access to commercially-delivered X-band and military Ka-band satellite capacity has increased more recently with the introduction of services like tactiXs – an end-to-end managed service that delivers secure, non-preemptible X-band capabilities to customers on an on-demand basis.

These managed services enable governments and militaries without existing, purpose-built military satellite resources to quickly and easily gain access to resilient, reliable X-band and military Ka-band satellite communications at a moment’s notice. There is no special or proprietary hardware necessary to access the service, and no ground infrastructure necessary.  COTS X-band terminals are used to gain access.  Governments and militaries can simply acquire the satellite services they need – for a specified period of time or for a prescribed amount of data throughput – and begin using them immediately.

The near-peer adversaries that America and its coalition partners are confronted with today know that satellite is fundamental and mission-critical for so many military operations. And they’ll do anything to deny access to the satellite services that are both basic necessity and force-multiplier.

“[tactiXs] gives the military user tremendous flexibility and agility. They now have on-demand access to X-band capabilities on an as-needed basis. And they don’t have to buy the capacity on a long-term basis,” Aston explained. “Since [tactiXs] is a managed service, they also don’t have to provide the ground infrastructure. The ground stations and teleports – everything necessary to enable access – is provided for them.”

Resilient SATCOM is as essential to today’s military as any weapons system or platform being issued to – or deployed with – the warfighter. It provides the connectivity for next-generation, network-enabled systems. It enables ISR and situational awareness. And it becomes the backbone of even the most basic of communications services when terrestrial networks are denied.

Commercial X-band managed services can ensure that the connectivity governments and militaries need is available immediately. They also can deliver the resiliency and reliability necessary for mission-critical communications.

For additional information on tactiXs, click HERE.

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Throughout the symposium, the space domain took center stage in panel discussions about the U.S. Space Force’s plan to move forward in modernizing and digitally transforming its network architecture and systems, in order to establish freedom of action in the space domain, while simultaneously being able to deny the same freedom to our adversaries.

In one specific session, “Airmen and Guardians in the Fight,” Gen. John “Jay” Raymond, Chief of Space Operations at the U.S. Space Force, outlined the requirements and measures that would need to be taken to accelerate the change that will lead to U.S. superiority in the space domain.

According to Gen. Raymond, the keys to moving with and innovating at the speed of the ever-changing space race include leveraging the “explosion” of innovation that is coming out of the commercial industry and deploying a new, resilient space architecture that would put the U.S. in an advantageous position over its adversaries.

Commercial industry would strengthen defense industrial base

According to Gen. Raymond, to deliver advanced, military relevant capabilities at speed, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) must begin strengthening its ties with the commercial industry and relying more on the technological advancements and innovations that are coming out of the private sector.

“I think there’s great advantage with commercial industry,” said Gen. Raymond. “There’s been an explosion of business going on…We want to be able to leverage them.”

“The big focus area for us this year…is shifting our space architecture to a new, more resilient architecture by the design of the force.” – Gen. Raymond.

Quoting last November’s State of the Space Industrial Base 2021 report, Gen. Raymond stated that the industrial base is “tactically strong but strategically fragile.” To combat the “fragile” state of the space domain’s industrial base, he believes that the DoD should embrace the opportunities the private sector presents to the military and expand the industrial base to more innovative players. Doing so would provide the modern and effective systems, capabilities, and approaches that are required in delivering space superiority for the U.S.

Gen. Raymond recognizes that the role of the space domain has drastically changed since he began his career. Previously viewed as a benign arena, he explained that space is now “the most dynamic and complex security environment in three generations.”

Near-peer competitors like China have spent more than three decades building a space warfighting architecture that has the same advantageous capabilities that the U.S. employs today. “They built it for a purpose,” Gen. Raymond emphasized. “That coupled with the spectrum of threats that we’re seeing from low-end, reversible jamming to high-end kinetic destruction, it’s a different domain. And it requires a different approach.”

The private sector has already created the solutions and capabilities the military needs to protect and secure American assets in space. With near-peer competitors being close to outpacing U.S. capabilities in the domain, relying on the commercial industry would better prepare and position the military with solutions and systems that would defend against the innovations and advancements of our adversaries.

The path to a resilient space architecture

In the past few months, Gen. Raymond has expressed that 2022 is going to be the year of the resilient space architecture for the Space Force – a sentiment he also echoed at the AFA panel. “The big focus area for us this year, and for the next decade, is shifting our space architecture to a new, more resilient architecture by the design of the force,” said Gen. Raymond.

“Our joint coalition forces require the space capabilities that we provide. They can’t be treated as a given anymore.” – Gen. Raymond

“The capabilities that we have in space are exquisite. They’re small in numbers, and they’re not easily defendable. Our joint coalition forces require the space capabilities that we provide. They can’t be treated as a given anymore. We’re going to continue to provide those capabilities and do so in a way that’s more resilient.”

According to Gen. Raymond, warfighting is on the precipice of a major evolution. He emphasized that the U.S. is pitted against adversaries that have – if deterrence were to fail – incredible space capabilities for their own use. “As countries are developing capabilities to deny us our access to space, we can’t take it for granted,” said Gen. Raymond. “And you got to be able to protect and defend it.”

When the DoD invests time and money on the in-house design, testing, and deployment of limited, stovepipe solutions, adversaries who leverage their own nation’s commercial sector have the chance to surpass and deny the U.S. access to its systems and capabilities. Calling back to the need for commercial industry innovation and input, the federal government does not need to reinvent the wheel. The path to a resilient space architecture begins with turning to the existing capabilities and systems that private industry has already created.

Industry is waiting in the wings

The conversation around commercial space and satellite industries’ roles in supporting military innovation in the space domain is not just limited to Space Force leadership. In fact, Congress added a call in FY22’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that requires the DoD to report on its utilization of COMSATCOM services from non-geostationary orbits (NGSO) for delivering connectivity to the warfighter.

Though the NDAA directive doesn’t necessarily signal a heavier reliance on space industry leaders, it does acknowledge the unmistakably growing role that industry is playing in the defense and security of space as a warfighting domain.

In a recent interview with the Government Satellite Report, Gen. Curtis Michael Scaparrotti – a retired U.S. Army four-star general who served as the Commander of United States European Command – discussed how the innovation the commercial satellite industry is critical in building resilient network architectures.

“Commercial satellite providers are the engines of innovation, providing capabilities today and on the horizon that are quite promising,” said Gen. Scaparrotti. Speaking specifically about commercial satellite providers, Gen. Scaparrotti explained, “They are developing capabilities that reduce vulnerabilities and increase the resiliency of networks by positioning, numbers, and capabilities of systems, intra-satellite capabilities, and the flexibility of ground stations.”

Amit Katti, Principal Engineer at SES Space and Defense, shared Gen. Scaparrotti’s opinion in a recent interview about Hydra – SES Space and Defense’s new Common Operational Picture platform. “An integrated [COMSATCOM and MILSATCOM] architecture allows the military to leverage the investments the commercial sector has made in innovative technologies,” said Katti.

“Advanced commercial technologies have added benefits, including increased resilience to interference, jamming, or environmental effects, far more rapid resource allocation, improved situational awareness, and increased bandwidth utilization efficiencies.”

For additional information on how COMSATCOM capabilities can help make the military’s satellite architecture more resilient and capable, click HERE to download a complimentary copy of the whitepaper, “O3b mPOWER for U.S. Government Missions.”

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