Gigasat, part of Ultra Electronics Communication and Integrated Systems (CIS) has been selected to be part of a Raytheon team providing a troposcatter communications system to the US Army. 

The system is being delivered under a ten year, indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract to provide personnel access to secure voice and data communications in contested environments.

Troposcatter communications systems allow troops to establish a communications capability in the field in areas where access to a trusted source of satellite communications coverage is not available.

Following a competitive testing and analysis process, Raytheon selected Ultra Gigasat’s troposcatter antenna to provide the US Army with a secure and easily deployable capability to facilitate mission-critical communications between soldiers in the field and command and control. 

The troposcatter terminal has been designed to operate in a multitude of environments, ensuring that wherever troops are conducting missions they have access to a reliable communications system. 

‘The operational requirements of today mean that troops are required to deploy to a variety of environments where access to satellite coverage and power is not guaranteed,’ Mark Aitken, business unit director at Ultra Gigasat, said.

‘Reliable, secure communications is a vital component of operations and is essential not only to the success of missions, but also to protecting soldiers’ safety. Our partnership with Raytheon will ensure that the capability is readily available to provide soldiers with deployable communications tools, regardless of whether or not satellite coverage is available.’

Ultra Gigasat says that its troposcatter antenna has undergone design, testing and development to ensure it can be deployed to any field of operation, is easily assembled with no requirement for additional components, and can quickly establish a secure communications function. 

The system has been optimised for transportability, weight and size, maximising the range of transport platforms that can deploy the terminal to a site whilst not placing additional demands on the operation.

Once installed and aligned, the terminal provides a stable platform to transmit and receive data, even in harsh conditions or severe environments.