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.
TCI to supply VSATs to US Army
TeleCommunication Systems (TCS) will provide Micro Satellite (Microsat) Very Small Aperture Terminals (VSATs) to the US Army under a delivery order announced on 14 October. The terminals have been ordered under the army's Global Tactical Advanced Communication Systems (GTACS) programme.
TCS will partner with Tampa Microwave to supply the terminals, which will be MicroVSAT .65M and .95M terminals and 1.3M Flyaway VSAT terminals. The Wideband Global SATCOM-certified terminals meet MIL-STD-810G tactical requirements.
The MicroVSAT family can deliver data rates up to 10 MBS to provide a terrestrial large pipe in geographically-challenged areas. The units’ small form factor enables non-attributable transport and operation, making them well suited for special operations teams, tier-1 responders, command and control, and data exfiltration calls.
TCS will also provide baseband networking equipment as part of the solution in partnership with Klas Telecom.
Michael Bristol, government solutions group president, TCS, said: ‘TCS, Klas Telecom and Tampa Microwave have collaborated on MicroVSAT satellite system opportunities for more than five years. As a prime contractor, TCS has supplied these terminals to the DoD via the WWSS contract vehicle and now the GTACS contract vehicle.
‘With the continuing strong demand for MicroVSAT equipment, we are honoured to again serve as a trusted vendor in equipping our nation's warfighter with this advanced communications capability.’
The order has a total value of $223.4 million if all options are exercised through September 2020. The initial funding on this order is $9.9 million for the base 12-month period starting September 2015.
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