Australia looks towards space with force restructure, investment and training
Australia is looking to improve its presence in space with a focus on communications and creating a dedicated segment of its defence forces committed to the domain.
Dismounted US forces operating in Afghanistan are set to receive the latest upgrade to ITT's Netted Iridium RO and C2 tactical radios, Iridium Communications have revealed.
Speaking to Shephard at DSEi on 15 September, company executives said the Phase III upgrade would extend the radio system's range yet further from its current 200-250 mile radius by up to 300%. However, they were unable to comment on when the software upgrades would be implemented.
In its original form, the RO radio boasted a range radius of 100 miles but a Phase II upgrade, which began in 2010, saw this more than doubled. A total of around 6,500 systems have been fielded to the US Marine Corps and other units in Afghanistan in order to provide secure voice and data communications for dispersed soldiers.
According to Iridium, the systems rely on low-earth orbiting, non-geostationary Iridium satellite constellation. It is thought the Phase III upgrade incorporated the utilisation of satellite crosslinks.
Additionally, an ITT spokesperson said the company was also planning on integrating a mapping attachment called 'RO Map'. This is designed to improve a warfighter's situation awareness although the spokesperson was unable to provide more details.
The RO Tactical Radio relies on the Distributed Tactical Communications System architecture and the Defense Information Systems Agency's Enhanced Mobile Satellite Service.
Australia is looking to improve its presence in space with a focus on communications and creating a dedicated segment of its defence forces committed to the domain.
The Portuguese company’s naval communications system is in service across more than a dozen countries. It has turned to its home nation for support in developing a new vehicle based C2 system.
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Persistent Systems has been cleared by National Security Agency (NSA) to transmit sensitive data on commercial networks. The devices are added to the NSA’s Commercial Solutions for Classified (CSfC) component list which also includes other companies’ products providing the same security.
The release of the UK’s Strategic Defence Review (SDR) has been long promised as mid-year. It is possible it could be as early as 2 June although the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) continues to play its cards close to its chest.
Intelsat outlines how its multi-orbit SATCOM architecture is enhancing connectivity and resilience for special operations forces operating in degraded and contested environments.