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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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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The partners will leverage Network Innovations’ long history of providing global managed satellite services to introduce this new solution which will make commercially-provided X-band and military Ka-band capacity available to the military on-demand – when and where it’s needed within the reach of GovSat-1.

In advance of the official launch of tactiXs, we sat down with Patti Aston, a Senior Director at SES Space and Defense, to talk about the new service and why it’s an important new tool for the military. Here is what she told us:

Government Satellite Report (GSR): How is military X-band different from commercial Ka and Ku band? Are there benefits to X-band for military satellite communications?

Patti Aston: X-band frequencies are more robust than Ka and Ku-band frequencies – which are what most commercial operators provide. The major benefit of X-band is its resistance to interference. The satellites are set further apart, so the adjacent satellite interference is mitigated.

Also, the frequency band is better for mitigating rain fade. Ka and Ku are not as resistant to rain fade, which can create mission assurance concerns for the military. Rain fade is caused when the terminal on the ground can’t “see” the satellite on orbit because of clouds, rain, snow, sleet, or other environmental factors. This creates a situation where the signal fades and the terminal can’t transmit to the satellite.  Consumers of satellite television are probably very familiar with this – as they’ve most likely lost service or experienced pixilation in bad storms.

Finally, X-band users are typically more highly trained and less likely to accidentally create interference. With X-band available to only government and military users, terminal operators know how to access that capacity responsibly. That can’t always be said about other satellite frequencies.

These things all contribute to X-band being 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.

GSR: If X-band is considered more reliable for military use, why aren’t all military communications sent over the X-band WGS satellite constellation? What limitations exist within the WGS constellation?

Patti Aston: There are a couple of reasons why the military may look outside the X- WGS constellation for satellite communications and connectivity. But the biggest reason is available non-preemptible capacity.

It can be difficult for a mission to get X-band capacity on the WGS constellation because of the demand. There is also a hierarchy within the military that is often reflected in which mission gets access to WGS capacity. Some missions have priority. For example, enabling communications for a special forces’ operation would take priority and capacity away from a testing or training mission.

“Any time assured communications are essential and mission-critical for the warfighter, tactiXs is a valuable resource.” – Patti Aston

Another factor is the time required to obtain access to the WGS satellites.  From request to access can take weeks or even months.  Often missions need immediate access to capacity and will turn to commercial operators for that access.

For mission-critical communication, WGS is terrific – but only if the warfighter and mission take priority and get access to it when they need it. Typically, if another, higher-priority, mission comes along, that warfighter or mission may get preempted and they won’t have connectivity at all.

GSR: SES and the Government of Luxembourg launched GovSat-1 to provide a commercial X-band alternative – effectively a commercial military satellite. Why is this needed? How can this help the military?

Patti Aston: By making a military band satellite available through a commercial operator, we can eliminate the potential of preemption. When a mission is contracted on a commercial satellite, that mission will always have the connectivity and capacity it needs, no matter what else is happening.

This is especially important if that satellite offers coverage in a region with a large military presence or where there are multiple military operations or missions being conducted.

GovSat-1 covers Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). That region is particularly important to the U.S. Government and its Alliance partners. In the EMEA region, our Government – and other Allied governments, including NATO members –  need access to communications with the same amount of security and mission assurance as the WGS satellite constellation. But they also need that access to be reliable and not get preempted by other users or missions.

“For mission-critical communication, WGS is terrific – but only if the warfighter and mission take priority and get access to it when they need it. Typically, if another, higher-priority, mission comes along, that warfighter or mission may get preempted and they won’t have connectivity at all.” – Patti Aston

GovSat-1 ensures that secure, X-band satellite communications and capacity are there for them in one of the most active areas of operation on the planet.

GSR: Recently SES announced the launch of a new service called tactiXs. How is this service new and different from other commercial satellite managed services on the marketplace?

Patti Aston: tactiXs is the only commercial satellite managed service available to the military that offers X-band satellite capacity on an as-needed volume-based basis. Essentially, by making capacity on GovSat-1 available as a short-term managed service, tactiXs enables the military to access X-band capacity specifically tailored to the mission in which communications are needed.

GSR: How does tactiXs change the way the military can access the GovSat-1 satellite and benefit from its capabilities and capacity?

Patti Aston: With tactiXs, if a military contracting officer needs to deliver a specific amount of X-band connectivity and capacity to the EMEA region for a specific amount of time, they will be able to purchase and deliver just what is needed to the warfighter within hours.

This gives the military user tremendous flexibility and agility. They now have on-demand access of X-band capacity on an as-needed basis. And they don’t have to buy the capacity on a long-term basis. Since this 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.

GSR: What military use cases can you anticipate for tactiXs? What kinds of missions could tactiXs help to support?

Patti Aston: Candidly, all of them. Special operations, covert missions, missions in which warfighters have to drop into an area discreetly and receive or send data securely. Any mission that requires military X-band capacity that won’t be preempted. Any mission that needs the security of X-band satellite communications from a trusted industry partner – and they need it right away. Any time assured communications are essential and mission-critical for the warfighter, tactiXs is a valuable resource.

“It can be difficult for a mission to get X-band capacity on the WGS constellation because of the demand. There is also a hierarchy within the military that is often reflected in which mission gets access to WGS capacity. Some missions have priority.” – Patti Aston

There is also the ability to serve missions like training, testing, and airborne training missions. These are missions that require small amounts of connectivity for short periods of time. They’re also the missions that are most often preempted on the WGS satellite constellation.

tactiXs is an incredible solution to meet the connectivity requirements of these missions without waiting or for the military having to over-buy bandwidth.

GSR: What will the military need to do to access tactiXs? Is there a long lead time or notice needed to use the service? Is new hardware needed?

Patti Aston: There is virtually no lead time needed as long as you have the terminal. However, it would be beneficial to have an agreement set up ahead of time. That way, if the military knows there is the potential to use the service, that mission-critical capacity is simply a phone call or email away.

There is no special or proprietary hardware necessary to access the service. Military users simply need an X-band terminal similar to others already available and widely adopted across the military. We use the Dialog platform infrastructure so there is a good chance that similar hardware has already been deployed into the field.

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The full end-to-end managed service provides practical, cost-effective solutions to mission parameters by allowing the customer to purchase a volume-based Mbps service, as opposed to MHz bandwidth agreements, whilst ensuring security and performance of the connectivity service.

Leveraging the GovSat-1 satellite, operated by GovSat, tactiXs delivers secure, non-preemptible X-band capacity to customers on an on-demand basis across any domain or austere environment in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Utilizing high-powered, steerable spot beams that can be quickly repositioned to provide robust coverage makes this solution well suited for any U.S. military or government-based mission whether it be comms-on-the-move or comms-on-the-pause.

“Our new service platform is a non-preemptible alternative to WGS that can handle the most tactical-edge customers’ data and mission requirements, and with no lead time required can be set up within hours for the mission at hand,” said President and CEO of SES Space and Defense, Brigadier General Pete Hoene, USAF (retired). “We are proud to partner with both Network Innovations and GovSat as we understand the demand for reliable, uncontended bandwidth and we are excited to bring this innovative and secure solution to the market.”

tactiXs can support a myriad of use cases required by military users, including covert missions and various types of special ops. The GovSat-1 satellite connectivity is ideally paired with the capabilities of the tactiXs platform and has all the key attributes of MILSATCOM such as anti-jam, encrypted telemetry & control as well as secure beam steering & control, and can augment the Wideband Global SATCOM system (WGS) with secure X- and Mil Ka- band capabilities.

“tactiXs is the only commercial satellite managed service available to the military that offers X-band satellite capacity on an as-needed, volume-based basis,” said Patti Aston, a Senior Director at SES Space and Defense. “By making capacity on GovSat-1 available as a short-term managed service, tactiXs enables the military to access X-band capacity specifically tailored to the mission in which communications are needed.”

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As part of the Schriever War Games, the military identifies a scenario that they envision facing a decade in the future. The participants from the military and private industry then build toolkits of solutions and capabilities that they can use in those scenarios. From there, Red Team / Blue Team exercises begin, and teams attempt to outmaneuver each other in a hypothetical conflict. The toolkits can only include solutions that are currently available or are slated to be available in the next decade.

What’s particularly exciting about the War Games is the involvement of commercial and industry partners. The military understands that much of its future capabilities will be developed by those that it partners with in the private sector. By getting them involved in the War Games, industry partners become aware of the military’s future challenges and requirements, and the military gets to learn about the new capabilities and solutions that its industry partners are developing.

And one of the areas where there will be massive innovation and introduction of new solutions in the coming years is the satellite industry. Whether it’s the launch of new satellite constellations at new orbits, or the introduction of satellite services in some of the more remote and extreme locations on the planet, the satellite industry is making massive strides and will have many new services and capabilities that the military will be able to take advantage of in ten year’s time.

Let’s take a look at three of the game changing future commercial satellite capabilities that were discussed at the recent Schriever War Games:

O3b mPOWER and high throughput satellites at MEO
One of the largest and most exciting innovations that the military can look forward to in the coming years is the introduction of O3b mPOWER – a next generation, high throughput satellite service in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO). This extremely high bandwidth, exceptionally low-latency satellite service will deliver incredible amounts of data to virtually anywhere on the planet and will do so with increased resiliency.

With space now considered a warfighting domain, mPOWER’s baked-in anti-jam and resiliency features ensure that military communications are harder to degrade, deny or compromise. Its smaller, more powerful beams and closer proximity to Earth will make it possible to enjoy fiber-like throughputs. The MEO satellites have already garnered the interest and attention of the military with the launch quickly approaching in 2021.

GovSat-1 and the rise of “commercial military satellites”
The Department of Defense (DoD) prefers the security and reliability of the X-band and military Ka-band satellite spectrums over the commercial C-band or Ku-band satellite spectrums. But, as Phil Harlow recently wrote on the Government Satellite Report, “There are less than a dozen WGS satellites, making the bandwidth on those satellites a precious and limited commodity.”

Being able to roll onto a commercial satellite when the WGS satellite constellation is denied,  in use, or simply doesn’t have enough bandwidth could be a major asset for increasing the resiliency of military satellite communications. This is where GovSat-1 comes in.

GovSat-1 is a satellite that was built by commercial partners in collaboration with coalition partner nations to offer the same spectrum, security, and capabilities as a military satellite. However, it’s a commercial satellite that can be contracted for when and where it’s needed. Using the GovSat-1 satellite doesn’t necessarily require additional hardware or different terminals to utilize since it effectively utilizes the same technology as a WGS satellite.

Since GovSat-1 just launched in January 2018, the lifespan of this fresh satellite is expected to last from today through the entirety of the wargame scenarios, and beyond.

Increased polar capacity to meet higher demand
The DoD is in a transformative period where they’re shifting focus back to near-peer adversaries – including Russia and China – and working to revitalize a military depleted from two decades of near-constant war.

Considering the geographic location and sophistication of these adversaries, there’s a renewed interest in securing the poles and ensuring that today’s advanced network-enabled platforms and capabilities are available to the warfighter in these extreme and harsh environments.

Traditionally, the poles have been primarily used by research and commercial maritime organizations, but the military is increasing requirements for satellite service in these areas as well. Commercial satellite solution providers are looking to make strategic investments to meet that demand.

In the coming decade, the military can anticipate an increase in the number of satellites that service the Arctic with high SLAs. They can also anticipate satellite services from lower orbits starting to service these locations in the not-too-distant future.

As next generation satellites – including the satellites at lower orbits – reach the end of their life over the next decade, they will see their course-correction reduced to help extend their service. Some of the satellites at MEO will invariably be among them, and their new orbit will enable them to deliver service to the poles. This means that the government will not only be able to get satellite connectivity in this extreme location, they will also be able to get high throughput, low-latency connectivity there as well.

For additional information on GovSat-1 click HERE. for additional information on mPOWER, click HERE.

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This is one of the reasons why the military continues to rely on X-band satellites and frequencies for their communications requirements – they’re considered more effective and reliable. Unfortunately, the Department of Defense (DoD) has another resiliency problem when it comes to its X-band satellite constellation, WGS. There are less than a dozen WGS satellites, making the bandwidth on those satellites a precious and limited commodity.

There are numerous instances where users with an X-band or a military Ka-band terminal operating on WGS could suddenly find themselves without satellite communications. Maybe the bandwidth needed isn’t available. Or maybe WGS isn’t available. Or they’ve been bumped off of WGS for a higher priority user.

These aren’t hypothetical situations – they actually happen.

In any of those scenarios that I listed, the user can either go without satellite communications or they can turn to the commercial market. The latter is often what they do – acquiring COMSATCOM capabilities on the spot market to fill the SATCOM requirements that WGS can’t.

There are numerous reasons why this isn’t ideal. This method of satellite acquisition is time consuming, takes some level of effort, and can be expensive and limiting.  This acquisition process keeps the military from leveraging the full innovation and creativity of the commercial industry, but it isn’t ideal from a terminal hardware perspective either.

A terminal situation
The X-band and military Ka terminals that military personnel are deployed with are certified and registered military satellite terminals that have been rigorously tested and vetted to ensure that they work with WGS. The military goes through this process to not only ensure that the terminal functions as advertised, but also to learn its idiosyncrasies. The military doesn’t want any surprises for its warfighters in theater, so they learn everything about these satellite terminals and train the user in the field how to get the most out of them.

Unfortunately, with the vast majority of commercial satellites operating at Ku-, C-, or commercial Ka-bands, these military terminals can’t be used on the vast majority of commercial satellites. This most likely means carrying an additional terminal for additional resiliency over commercial SATCOM.

A more sophisticated solution would be a commercial satellite that delivers the same X and mil Ka-band services as a military satellite. And that’s exactly what is possible with GovSat-1.

GovSat-1 is a commercially owned and operated satellite that gives the military the security and reliability of MILSATCOM with the availability, innovative technology, and accessibility of COMSATCOM. GovSat-1 is effectively a military AND government satellite, built using a rapid commercial approach whilst maintaining the robust requirements of a military satellite. It provides both X and mil-Ka frequency bands and features many of the advanced capabilities and securities that are found in today’s more advanced communications satellites.

Most importantly to the topic at hand – GovSat-1 can operate and work with the same military approved satellite terminals that the warfighter already uses with the WGS satellite constellation. This means that only one terminal needs to be carried. A terminal that has undergone rigorous testing, trials and vetting and that the operator has been trained on to ensure optimal performance.

And that brings us back to our original discussion about resiliency…

Imagine that you’re a satellite operator at a forward operating base. The WGS satellite that you were relying on for mission-critical communications is not available because it either doesn’t have the capacity available for your requirements, or has been denied by the adversary.

In this instance, the ability to seamlessly roll over to a commercial X band satellite is pertinent. And the ability to do so with the same terminal could be invaluable. By having a commercial option like GovSat-1 that utilizes military technology, the DoD can increase the resiliency of their satellite networks and give the warfighter a way to seamlessly meet their satellite requirements without changing terminals or losing the safety and security of operating in X-band.

To learn more about GovSat-1 and its benefits to the warfighter, click HERE.

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Fully coordinated X-band has been available on commercial terms since 2005, and with more becoming available each year. What was once the sole domain of governments and the military is now an accessible resource to fulfill the most demanding of missions.

The military machine once viewed this commercially available X-band with distrust and comments like: Surely it is an inferior product, less capable and less secure? Can we trust the commercial satellite operator to be there when we need them? Surely it is the most expensive alternative to using military satellites?

Roll forward almost 15 years and we are into our second generation of commercially available military frequencies; expanded, more capable than ever, and with a track record of always being there to support every military operation from Desert Storm to Gothic Serpent to Enduring Freedom to Inherent Resolve. Commercial satellites can and will be there for every future military operation.

Capabilities dramatically improve with each iteration of commercial satellites, with satellite providers continually adding more throughput, more spectrum, and more power. This means the user on the ground gets more options, more competition – which means lower prices – and the ability to pick the right solution to fit the mission, without compromising on mission TTPs to fit the SATCOM solution. Commercially available military frequencies are just one more option on the smorgasbord of commercial solutions.

These military frequencies provide practical cost-effective solutions to mission parameters that demand high throughput, resilience, reliability, and small mobile terminals. With the addition of military frequencies to commercial satellites, the cost-value tradeoff is no longer a major factor.

X-band is a particularly effective satellite frequency band in regions with drastic climates. X-band mitigates the effects of rain and sandstorm activity that degrade satellite link performance. Military satellites and frequency bands are used for high-priority missions where active operations are happening. It is no coincidence that the commercially available military frequencies are available in the same high-activity regions. This additional layer of redundancy in commercial bandwidth is intended to provide an overlay and augmentation of existing military satellites to support the same missions in the same high-activity regions. Commercial providers are here to serve – now, and tomorrow.

For additional information on the role that commercial satellite services can play in providing necessary X-band and Ka-band capacity to the military, click HERE.

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Commercial solutions helps the military  embrace innovative technologies within their organization more quickly than if they tried to build them themselves. Unfortunately, commercial companies have a bad habit of trying to force the government to change their requirements to meet the specifications of their products – not change their products to meet the government’s requirements.

However, I did provide an example of a case study where a government and a commercial service provider worked together to tailor a commercial solution to the specific requirements of the government –the GovSat-1 satellite, a public-private partnership between the Luxembourg Government and SES. This satellite is effectively commercially-owned and operated, built to meet the unique specification and needs of a government– utilizing the X and mil-Ka frequency bands relied upon by governments and featuring the latest in satellite technologies.

While GovSat-1 is an incredible example of how commercial industry can listen to government requirements and produce a product that meets their needs, it brings up interesting questions. Why does the government need a commercial WGS satellite? Why not just use commercial satellites to fill their communications requirements?

The answer to that involves the inherent differences between MILSATCOM and COMSATCOM satellites and frequencies. So, let’s take a deeper dive into the pros and the cons of both, and it will become increasingly obvious why a commercial government satellite is the best of both worlds for the military.

MILSATCOM: safer, reliable but limited
Despite what we discussed in my last article – that WGS satellites are spacecraft that were designed two decades ago and feature older technology – there are technical benefits to military satellites.

First, there are the technical advantages of operating at the X band frequency. Frequencies below ~10 GHz are not as susceptible to the effects of atmospheric attenuation. This means almost completely clear-sky operation no matter whether you are in a high rain zone or in a dusty desert.

With only ten WGS satellites in orbit, there is less chance of adjacent satellite interference. This means that more power can be put down from each satellite without fear of interfering with other, adjacent satellites (or being interfered with by other satellites). This higher power results in a stronger signal on the ground that further overcomes attenuation from environmental factors, increases throughputs and improves link reliability.

The benefits of MILSATCOM aren’t just technical, there are also operational benefits. All of the individuals operating military satellites are trained professionals. There are no commercial providers or amateurs potentially gumming up the works with miss-pointed antennas, overdriving power amplifiers or being on the wrong frequencies. Ultimately, the spectrum for MILSATCOM is “quieter,” and there is less chance of an unskilled operator inadvertently causing interference. This alone can significantly increase the reliability of MILSATCOM.

But it’s not all positives when it comes to MILSATCOM. There are some reasons why military satellite isn’t always the best option.

First, there’s the issue of compatible terminals and ground infrastructure. Many military users – especially allied partners – don’t have equipment that can work for military frequency bands. The number of military terminals is limited, and the price of them can be exorbitant. This is why many of our allied partners own commercial terminals and prefer to use commercial frequencies.

Then, there’s the issue of capacity. There are only ten WGS satellites in orbit. Those satellites are not the extremely high capacity, high throughput satellites that are currently being built and launched by commercial satellite operators, which means capacity is extremely limited.

Should a military user need or want WGS satellite capacity, chances are they’re going to have to wait in line. If a VIP needs that capacity, or a higher priority mission requires it, there’s a good chance that they’ll have to make do without it, or at least without everything they need.  One significant limitation is the restricted use of small terminals on WGS.  This makes communications on the move, drones and other mobile platforms more compatible with commercial frequencies.

COMSATCOM: abundant, flexible but less secure

There are hundreds of commercial satellites in orbit around the earth right now. Each of those satellites represents an opportunity for the military to get the bandwidth and capacity they need for every mission – without exception. However, there are reasons why the military may be reluctant to utilize COMSATCOM for mission communications and connectivity.

First, there’s the issue with environmental attenuation. Commercial satellites operating at higher frequencies can have their signals deteriorated or denied by rain and other environmental factors. That can be a problem for the military since many missions can’t wait until the rain clears up. On an annual basis, atmospheric attenuation only creates ~15 minutes of downtime per day on average, depending on the frequency band.

Commercial satellites are much closer together than military satellites.  This means that operating conditions require accurate antenna pointing and disciplined operations to prevent accidental interference.  The sharing of a commercial satellite with these non-military users, and the perceived higher incidence of accidental interference leads many military personnel to presume that commercial satellites are less reliable and less secure.  I’ll talk more about the myths of using commercial satellites for military applications in a future post.

All that being said, the sheer number of commercial satellites provides flexibility, diversity and an overall increase in service reliability. If a signal is jammed or denied, there are other satellites that the military can roll onto that won’t be jammed or denied if spare capacity and coverage are available. It’s also harder for an adversary to find the specific satellite that our military is using since there are so many to choose from.

Commercial satellite is an incredible, viable adjunct for the military. But there will always be military leaders that want and need the increased security and reliability of military satellites for their mission-critical communications requirements. And that’s one reason why GovSat-1 is such an effective solution.

GovSat-1 gives the military the security and reliability of MILSATCOM with the availability, innovative technology and accessibility of COMSATCOM, making it a great tool for augmenting the military’s existing satellite infrastructure.

In my next post on the Government Satellite Report, I’ll look at some of the use cases of MILSATCOM and what it can deliver to mobile warfighters.

The post MILSATCOM and COMSATCOM – why they’re better together appeared first on SES Space and Defense.

The government tends to move slower than the pace of innovation in these industries. After the government or military’s requirements are established, a bespoke-built solution often takes longer than a commercial build.
With the rapid improvement in technology, if a military program or satellite takes many years from design to going operational, it’s highly likely the capability will be outdated by the time the service starts.

In the meantime, private industry has continued innovating and have released newer products and solutions with better functionality and new capability that could be better at doing the job.

Rapid access to new and innovative technology is a big driver for today’s warfighters.  Military users are growing up with instant access to new technology and expect access to the improvements that new technology brings.  Aside from price, this is one of the best-selling features of commercial technologies, products and services – commercial technologies mean faster access to innovation. But this isn’t a completely one-sided argument.

There are very real reasons why the government and military are often reticent to embrace commercial solutions. Commercial companies don’t always listen to government requirements. And, in my opinion, when they do, they often try to force government entities into reshaping their requirements to meet already existing commercial solutions. Security and robustness needed by the military are usually features that most commercial systems don’t implement fully to the levels that are required.

What’s the alternative? Commercial companies need to do a better job of communicating with the government, identifying their unique requirements and then crafting solutions that meet these requirements, instead of trying to get the requirements to meet the solution. The government/industrial relationship has become too commoditized, too transactional – we miss the truly collaborative interaction that results in the ideal mix of function, schedule and cost, focused on the mission at hand.

And for those that think that this collaborative approach is improbable or far-fetched, I can offer an incredible case study from the satellite industry.

GovSat-1 and building solutions for government

The network-centric nature of today’s military effectively requires that all military operations have access to high bandwidth, low latency connectivity. Network-enabled military platforms, connected vehicles and warfighter capabilities demand it.

The military relies on a mix of highly protected satellites, assured and controlled WGS core capacity with UHF mobile and tactical satcoms for its main capability. This is supported by commercial capacities on a “use until you lose” basis.

In my opinion, WGS satellites are all similarly-built satellites that were designed two decades ago. They were built and then launched in succession from 2007 until 2019 – the tenth WGS satellite in the constellation was launched in March of this year.

Since these satellites were all built on an older design, they lack the advanced capabilities and technologies that are present in today’s more advanced commercial satellites. That’s because, much like I discussed previously, as they were being built, the industry continued to innovate and introduce new technologies and capabilities into spacecraft.

With just ten WGS satellites on orbit, some of which are headed towards end of life, the military often finds itself in need of more capacity than is available. This is exasperated by the older technologies in these satellites, which don’t have the same high-throughput as today’s advanced HTS spacecraft. This forces some missions and organizations to go without satellite service if something more pressing or mission-critical needs the capacity.

To help fill the military’s satellite requirements, many commercial satellite providers have called on them to utilize commercial satellite services – which is an excellent idea. Unfortunately, there will always be some data and communications that the military is hesitant to transmit via commercial satellites – which are often shared with other commercial and government users.

The typical commercial response is to tell the government to change its requirements. If commercial satellite services won’t meet their reliability or security requirements, they should just change them. But that’s a tall “ask” for most in the military, which often would rather make do with what it has than compromise on its mission requirements. Ultimately, this results in the military not getting the right capacity to meet its needs and leaves the commercial satellite industry complaining about it. But there is another path forward, as illustrated by LuxGovSat, a joint venture and stand-alone entity between the Luxembourg Government and SES.

In January of 2018, the Luxembourg Government and SES launched GovSat-1. This satellite is an incredible example of listening to military requirements and creating a solution that meets them, instead of trying to change the requirements.

GovSat-1 is effectively a military and government satellite built using a rapid commercial approach whilst maintaining the robust requirements of a military satellite. It provides both the X and mil-Ka frequency bands specifically dedicated to governments, and features many of the advanced capabilities and technologies that are found in today’s more advanced satellites. This allows the military to get the best of both worlds – they get the reliability and security of military satellite communications from a satellite that delivers the best, most innovative technologies from the commercial industry. It even allows the military to utilize the same terminals and antennas as the WGS constellation, meaning there’s no need to invest in new ground infrastructure.

The government and military should be looking at commercial technologies, products and solutions for meeting their needs. It’s the only way in which to keep pace with innovation and ensure that cutting edge technologies are being utilized to accomplish the mission. But for this to be possible, commercial providers need to be more sensitive and open to government needs and stop trying to force the government to change its requirements to meet their solutions.

GovSat-1 is an example of what can be done when governments and commercial providers work together to accomplish a goal – creating a solution that is tailored to government requirements and doesn’t force them to choose between having a capability and making difficult sacrifices.

In my next post on the Government Satellite Report, I’ll take a deep dive into the difference between military and commercial satellites and talk about the pros and cons of both for government users. For additional information on GovSat-1, click HERE.

The post Collaboration and partnership key to commercial satellite in the military appeared first on SES Space and Defense.

<To watch GovSat-1 Launch on board the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, click HERE>

Designed exclusively for the government and defense community, GovSat-1 is the first satellite of GovSat, which is a joint venture between the Government of Luxembourg and the world-leading satellite operator SES.

Positioned at 21.5 degrees East, this satellite will be ideally located to support communications within Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and to provide highly reliable and flexible interconnectivity for defense and institutional applications within its coverage area. GovSat-1 will also enable operations over the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.

Multi-mission Satellite
GovSat-1 was designed for dual use to support both defense and civil security applications, including mobile and fixed communications. It is a multi-mission satellite that offers X-band and Military Ka-band capacity. The spacecraft will provide up to six high-powered and fully steerable spot beams, as well as an advanced Global X-band beam.

The X-band frequency is reserved for governments and institutions, and is an ideal mean to establish secure and robust satellite communication links, for example between theaters of tactical operations, maritime missions or over areas affected by a humanitarian crisis.

The Military Ka-band will be used predominantly for mobility applications in support of Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions. The secure communication links it enables are characterized by smaller high-throughput VSAT terminals.

The Mediterranean Sea is one particular area covered by a high-power beam in military Ka-band. It is therefore ideally suited to enable communications for European Border Surveillance applications.

Equipped with anti-jamming features, encrypted telemetry and control, and frequencies reserved for governmental use, GovSat-1 will also provide enhanced resilience capabilities for more reliable connectivity.

GovSat-1 was built by Orbital ATK, and designed to operate for 15 years in geostationary orbit. The spacecraft has a launch mass of 4,230 kg. GovSat-1 has a diverse mix of transponder sizes in terms of bandwidth per transponder, offering in total 68 transponder-equivalent units of 36 MHz.

For additional information about GovSat-1, download a brochure by clicking HERE. To watch the launch of GovSat-1 on board the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, click HERE.

The post GovSat-1 to deliver secure communications for governments appeared first on SES Space and Defense.