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US Army seeks to move with the times on satellite hardware

10th July 2020 - 16:52 GMT | by Gerrard Cowan in Belfast

RSS

The US is adapting to the changing nature of communications and reconnaissance satellite hardware, as the space industry moves towards smaller and cheaper systems in low earth orbit (LEO) or medium earth orbit (MEO).

With this in mind, US Army Futures Command (AFC) is extending the range of tactical communications capabilities to augment military wideband global SATCOM when appropriate.

Willie Nelson, director of the Assured Positioning, Navigation and Timing Cross-Functional Team in AFC, said that modernised technical capabilities being pursued by near-peer adversaries can create challenges for US forces.

He pointed to adversary anti-access area denial (A2/AD) capabilities, which threaten

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Author

Gerrard Cowan

Gerrard Cowan is an experienced defence and financial journalist. He is a former Jane's Defence …

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