Australian Skynet ground station opens

A new ground station has opened in Australia to land Airbus Defence and Space’s Skynet secure military satellite communications network, the company announced on 16 May.

The new facility, located in Adelaide, will support the Skynet 5A military communications satellite that was relocated to 95° East over the Asia Pacific region in September 2015.

With the satellite and facility in operation, the Skynet network now offers global military coverage, expanding core service reach for the UK military and augmenting coalition capabilities in the region. 

The Australian facility joins the chain of teleports in France, Germany, Norway, the UK and the US in providing global coverage in both fixed and mobile satellite services. The 24/7 fully redundant teleports have more than 25 antennas, ranging from 2.4m to 14m in size and are all locked on to the Skynet constellation of high powered X-band and UHF satellites, as well as commercial  Ku-band assets.

This worldwide teleport network provides global coverage for connectivity services by providing the link between the satellite constellation and terrestrial networks for reliable end-to-end connectivity at the highest service levels. 

The new Australian ground station will be managed by Airbus Defence and Space in partnership with Speedcast.

Richard Franklin, head of secure communications, Airbus Defence and Space, said: ‘We are delighted to be able to announce the opening of the Australian facility, which now allows us to offer our customers a fully managed and anchored service across the globe to the harshest and remotest locations.’