march/april 2020 · 2020. 5. 6. · | march/april 2020 3 global military communications magazine...

1www.globalmilitarycommunications.com | March/April 2020

Global Military Communications Magazine

March/April 2020

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2 www.globalmilitarycommunications.com | March/April 2020


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How the military and defense sector can harness wearables - page 26

GMC

No part of this publication may betransmitted, reproduced or electronicallystored without the written permission fromthe publisher.

DS Air Publications does not give anywarranty as to the content of the materialappearing in the magazine, its accuracy,timeliness or fitness for any particularpurpose. DS Air Publications disclaims allresponsibility for any damages or lossesin the use and dissemination of theinformation.

All editorial contentsCopyright © 2020 DS Air PublicationsAll rights reserved

DS Air Publications1 Langhurstwood RoadHorshamWest Sussex, RH12 4QDUnited KingdomT: +44 1403 273973F: +44 1403 273972admin@dsairpublications.comwww.globalmilitarycommunications.com

EditorAmy [email protected]

News & Social Media EditorLaurence [email protected]

SalesSam [email protected]

Circulation ManagerElizabeth George

Sales DirectorJill [email protected]

Marketing and Business DevelopmentBelinda [email protected]

PublisherRichard [email protected]

Managing DirectorDavid [email protected]

ContentsNews review 4/6

Climate defence – The US must lead the fight against 8Earth’s only shared foe

Q&A Nicole Robinson, Senior Vice President of Global 12Government for SES

Protection of mission critical C5ISR equipment is vital 18within electronic warfare

Q&A Ken Peterman, President of Government Systems at 20Viasat

Mobile satellite terminals 24

How the military and defense sector can harness wearables 26

Q&A Adam Kaplan, CEO and Co-founder of Edgybees 28

If you would like to supply information for future issues of GMC pleasecontact Amy Saunders, Editor.

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Ultra Electronics installs the First S2150 HullMount Sonar on Royal Navy type 23 frigateHMS Portland

Photo courtesy of Ultra Electronics

HMS Portland becomes the first ship to be fitted with Ultra’snext generation Hull Mounted Sonar Type 2150 as part of awider refit to the Royal Navy’s frigates.

The sonar has been designed by Ultra Electronics Command& Sonar Systems and will replace the legacy Sonar Type 2050,which has been in Royal Navy service since the 1990s. Thenew sonar incorporates a state of the art User Interface toimprove operator effectiveness and usability. The digital controlof the outboard array minimises interference, reduces shipscabling, maximises reliability and extends array maintenanceintervals to at least five years. The sonar will be fitted to eight ofthe Royal Navy Type 23 frigates. Ultra has also been awardedthe contract to supply this sonar to the first three Royal NavyType 26 frigates currently under construction.

As part of Ultra’s ‘Sea Searcher’ sonar range, Ultra has alsodeveloped two smaller and lighter weight variants of the Type2150 Hull Mount Sonar for naval vessels up to 1,000 tonnesand 2,000 tonnes respectively.

With state-of-the art in-board processing and innovative userdisplays, this family of sonar systems provides a potent Anti-Submarine Warfare capability for patrol vessels, frigates andother vessels worldwide.

Mike Williams, Managing Director of Ultra ElectronicsCommand & Sonar Systems commented: “Reaching thissignificant milestone has been key for Ultra. With a number ofsignificant changes from the Sonar 2050 system it replaces, the project team has designed and developed a system that simplifiesuser operability and significantly reduces life cycle costs and in board footprint. They have truly excelled themselves”. GMC

GeoSpectrum Technologies launches game changing LFactive VDS deployable by USVsGeoSpectrum Technologies announces the debut of a new and compact version ofits Towed Reelable Active Passive Sonar (TRAPS) suitable for Unmanned SurfaceVessels (USVs). Named TRAPS-USV, this lighter-weight variant is designed to fit onalmost any size vessel, including patrol boats and USVs, while retaining full activesonar acoustic capabilities and providing ground breaking low frequency activesubmarine detection off smaller platforms.

With overall system weight reduced to approximately 40 percent of the alreadycompact TRAPS, TRAPS-USV allows surface vessels and USVs as small as 12meters long, to be equipped with powerful, long-range active sonar ASW capability.This enables the USVs to perform ASW operations on the move while conductingindependent missions or augmenting manned ASW assets including opportunitiesfor advanced techniques such as bi-static and multi-static operation.

Similar to its “larger brother” TRAPS (with installed or containerizedconfigurations), TRAPS-USV is a Low Frequency (LF) variable-depth-sonar intendedfor detection, classification, localization, and tracking of submarines in ASWoperations. TRAPS’ unique advantage is that its’ projector array is reelable and stowson the winch drum with the receive array and tow cable. This unique feature eliminates the need for a dedicated active over-boarding system saving, weight, space, complexity and cost. Both TRAPS and TRAPS-USV also have the unique capability toswap out and exchange active sonar projectors allowing O-level adaptation of the system to different active sonar frequenciesin the 2 to 10 kHz range. The containerized version of TRAPS first went to sea onboard Royal Canadian Navy ships in 2019.

In commonality with TRAPS, sonar processing for TRAPS-USV is performed by GeoSpectrum’s sensor-agnostic RecViewsonar processing capability which was designed for remote / distributed operation.

Paul Yeatman, President of GeoSpectrum, commented: “We are proud and excited to offer the world’s most compact LFactive variable depth sonar, suitable for even small class USVs. We understand that unmanned systems can and will play asignificant role in modern ASW operations and are confident that TRAPS-USV is significant game changer in this respect.TRAPS-USV is yet another step in the TRAPS innovation to provide high performance ASW capabilities in compact form andaffordable costs. We are proud to work with Curtiss-Wright/Indal our partners for the reduced weight winch and handlingsystem.” GMC

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Milrem Robotics to deliver UGVs to UKDefenceMilrem Robotics is to deliver two unmanned ground vehicles to the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) of theUnited Kingdom.

DSTL whose purpose is to maximise the impact of science and technology for the defence and security of the UK, is procuringthe unmanned vehicles to explore the capabilities and limitations of these autonomous systems in areas such as mobility,vulnerabilities and safety.

Milrem Robotics will supply thevehicles to DSTL in partnership withleading defence technology company,QinetiQ, who will integrate autonomousfunctions to the vehicles and arrangetransfer to the end user.

In cooperation with QinetiQ, MilremRobotics is participating in two UK large-scale robotics programs – JTARR (JointTactical Autonomous Resupply andReplenishment) and RPV (RoboticPlatoon Vehicle).

“The United Kingdom has a clear viewon the importance of robotics on thebattlefield and its impact on defencecapabilities. This is illustrated by the twolarge-scale robotics programs in whichMilrem Robotics is currently participatingin the UK,” said Kuldar Väärsi, CEO ofMilrem Robotics.

DSTL follows similar organizations inthe Netherlands, Norway and Germanywho have also opted for the THeMISplatform. For example, the German Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support hasacquired one platform for similar testing and evaluation by the German armed forces.

In addition, the THeMIS UGV has been delivered to France, US and Indonesia in logistics configuration intended to providecombat support and carry supplies with an option to integrate additional kinetic or non-kinetic payloads. GMC

Photo courtesy of DSTL

Wavestream hires Tom Cox Vice President ofBusiness Development and SalesWavestream has announced that Tom Cox has joined the company as its Vice President of Business Development and Sales.

Tom Cox comes to Wavestream with more than 20 years of experience working with and for the US Department of Defense.Most recently Tom was the Vice President of Innovation at Envistacom where he developed cutting-edge technologies for the DoDand commercial satellite communications markets. Earlier on, Tom founded and ran multiple startup companies involvingcommunications software technologies. Tom is also a veteran of the US Armyand worked at the National Security Agency during 9/11.

Also joining the Wavestream Business Development Team is Greg Johnsonas the Senior Business Development and Sales Director for GovernmentPrograms. Greg brings nearly thir ty years of experience in satellitecommunications and systems integration, as well as significant industryexperience and connections. Greg will report to Tom Cox.

“I would like to welcome Tom Cox as VP Business Development and Sales atWavestream. Tom brings extensive experience in satellite communications andDoD networking technologies, as well as a wealth of relationships throughoutthe industry,” said Bob Huffman, General Manager at Wavestream. “I am confidentthat Tom’s view of the industry and intimate knowledge of our customer’s needstogether with the expanded team will take Wavestream to the next level.”

“I am very excited to join Wavestream and contribute directly to its tremendousgrowth and prosperity, which I have come to know well in my previous rolespurchasing and fielding thousands of robust Wavestream products,” said TomCox, VP Business Development and Sales at Wavestream. “I have always hadhigh appreciation for Wavestream’s strengths in quality, manufacturing, airbornecertification, delivery and custom design and am thrilled now to be a member ofthis quality team.” GMC

In briefMission-Critical Technologies group, whichis part of Comtech’s Government Solutionssegment, received an order consisting ofadditional funding of $9.1 million (of which$7.7 million was in the third quarter), onthe previously announced three-year$124.2 million contract to provide ongoingsustainment services for the AN/TSC-198ASNAP (Secret Internet Protocol Router(SIPR) and Non-classified Internet ProtocolRouter (NIPR) Access Point), andbaseband equipment. SNAP terminalsprovide quick and mobile satellitecommunications capabilities to personnelin the field.

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Climate defence – The US must leadthe fight against Earth’s only sharedfoeWith pressure from international climate partnershipsincreasing and worldwide national disasters growing evermore serious, the role of assuring national stabilityincreasingly falls upon our armed forces. In early 2019, aseminal report was released from the Pentagon illustratingthe dire vulnerability the US military faces from climatechange, and the urgent need to adapt. At this critical time,the Department of Defence’s sustainability overhaul hasthe potential to lead the way for other militaries to followsuit.

National Intelligence Director Dan Coats and directors of the FBI, CIA and Defense Intelligence Agency testify onClimate Threat. Photo courtesy of DoD

A house divided: The Trump administration’s climateindecision - In January 2019, the Pentagon released a reportoutlining the effects of climate change on national security,described as “an assessment of the significant vulnerabilitiesfrom climate-related events to identify high risks to missioneffectiveness.”

The landmark report analysed the vulnerability of 79 militaryinstallations to five projected climate disasters: “Recurrentflooding, drought, desertification, wildfires, and thawingpermafrost.” Almost all were threatened by at least one of thehazards analysed or were projected to be threatened in thenext 20 years, presenting the potential for national and globalsecurity to be crippled both suddenly by freak events, and slowlyover time.

Additionally, a 2011 report by the US Navy quoted that just

Laurence Russell, News and Social Media Editor, Global MilitaryCommunications

a three-foot sea level rise, which the scientific community nowconsiders inevitable, will endanger 128 Department of Defence(DoD) installations, valued collectively at around US$100 billion.Other scientists predict as much as an 8-11-foot sea levelincrease by the end of the century, which would flood almostevery defensive installation in America.

A 2018 - Armed Forces Appropriations bill produced byCongress even confirmed that a Marshall Islands Air Force radarinstallation worth US$1 billion would be entirely submerged bythe sea within two decades. This is to say nothing of the morecommon operational inconveniences climate change willintroduce for the military, introducing a plethora of new risksand costs to missions great and small.

These dire concerns are being echoed across theRepublican-dominated Congress and throughout federalresearch groups inside the Trump administration such as theUS Global Change Research Program and NASA, whilst thePresident himself continues to make light of global warming -which he infamously claimed to be a Chinese ruse to underminethe US economy in November 2012, a stance he has yet toformally clarify.

President Trump has in fact opted to remove climate changefrom the national security strategy and disband the federaladvisory panel on climate change, which has divided theadministration down two markedly different paths at a crucialjuncture.

The climate report goes on to state that a host of architecturaland planning bodies within the DoD have been restructured to“strengthen climate considerations” preparing contingencies fora variety of short-term climate events, besides a slew ofinternational research initiatives to understand climate threats.The report represents an assessment of a series of developingproblems, rather than a list of realistic solutions.

There can be no doubt that the danger of our deteriorating

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climate is more than climate change deniers claim it to be.Climate change is nothing less than an existential threat, onethat militaries must be prepared to respond to.

The age of disaster: A new kind of warThe DoD’s climate report claims climate change is “likely to fuelcompetition for resources, economic distress, and socialdiscontent through 2019 and beyond.” The Global EnvironmentalChange: Human and Policy Dimensions journal agrees, claimingthat droughts caused by climate change would cause areaslike the Middle East to destabilise into renewed conflict overdwindling water supplies, fuelling further refugee migration.

This sentiment was further discussed at a meeting of theUnited Nations Security Council in January 2019, whenRosemary DiCarlo, UN Political Affairs Chief, stated that “majorarmies and businesses have long recognized the need toprepare for climate-related risks, rightfully assessing climatechange as a threat multiplier.”

A very clear militarised threat is present, made more hostileby an inhospitable world, but these enemies are symptoms ofsomething more dangerous. The forces reshaping our planetrepresent a very different kind of arsenal.

Researchers from the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit,a non-profit research group studying global sustainability,analysed 59 studies published before the 2015 United NationsClimate Change Conference. 41 of those studies demonstratedthat climate change events had extended events of extremeweather and amplified their intensity. Events such as storms,droughts, and wildfires, all of which destroy infrastructure, severcommunications and take lives, are measurably increasing indestructive power, further increasing the cost of weatheringthem.

For years, analysts have warned that the nature of living ona planet with increasingly serious natural disasters could leadto a reality of cyclical catastrophes comparable to a war of its

own. One which we cannot attack, but only defend against.A 2016 Institute for Policy Studies report entitled Combat vs

Climate quoted that the US spends 28 times more on nationalsecurity than climate security. It is important to defend againstthe potential enemies of tomorrow, but perhaps it is more urgentto defend against the certain enemies of the present andimmediate future by fortifying for the natural disasters we havealready seen ravage our nations, which appear to be growing instrength.

An army’s footprint: Learning to tread lightly for a post-fossilfuel futureThe US military is thought to be the largest institutional user offossil fuels on Earth. However, since they’re exempt frompublishing their emissions, there are no publicly availablestatistics to quote. The Paris Agreement in 2015 revoked thatexemption, but the DoD has yet to show anything.

According to the Guardian, US officials have informally stated“[The US military] has no provisions covering military compliance[to publish emission statistics] one way or another.”

From what figures have been made public, we can confirmthat the US emits over 70 million tonnes of CO2 per year, althoughthat number omits overseas bases, equipment, vehicles andtactical fleets, among other assets. Pollution at these magnitudesarguably does more to destabilise our world, the US included,as climate change increases instability, ultimately creating thekinds of threats military spending aims to confront.

Of course, the Pentagon’s No. 1 priority is improving missioneffectiveness, and reliance on fossil fuels is a less than optimalreality. For years, senior military officials have preached thevirtues of green alternatives.

In 2005, then Secretary of Defence Jim Mattis wrote a reportentitled Future Fuels in which he pleaded for the Pentagon to“unleash us from the tether of fuel” and invest heavily inrenewable alternatives, which did not go unheard. Between 2011

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US Army Service Members return to the US Virgin Islands. Photo courtesy of US Army

and 2015, the DoD nearly tripled the number of renewableenergy projects on its bases and remains committed to themandate put into force during the Bush administration to drawat least 25 percent of all energy renewably.

In addition to base efficiency, American defence technologyis also a global leader in green vehicle systems. Using hybrid-electric technology, the USS Makin Island is projected to saveUS$250 million in fuel annually, as the US Navy continues toinvest in advanced biofuel. Land operations aren’t neglectedeither, with new hybrid Humvees capable of managing 90percent fuel efficiency and a silent engine with its own obvioustactical advantages.

Despite these remarkable efforts, the US military’s effortsremain centred on maintaining an overwhelming standard ofnational defence and continued intervention in the Middle East,the demands of which constitute a staggering environmentalfootprint.

Progress on detaching from oil dependence has been made,but there is no reason to grow complacent.

The path ahead: Victory in a brighter worldThe DoD’s 2019 climate report describes climate change rightlyas a ‘global issue’ and quotes General Dunford, Chairman ofthe Joint Chiefs of Staff, who said that: “When I look at climatechange, it’s in the category of sources of conflict around theworld and things we’d have to respond to. So, it can be greatdevastation requiring humanitarian assistance - disaster relief -which the US military certainly conducts routinely.”

The United States Agency for International Developmentregularly conducts humanitarian aid and disaster relief initiatives,and that the ongoing DoD’s humanitarian assistance programworks to support “sustainable public health capacity-building,disaster preparedness, risk reduction, and relief response…andthus also climate resiliency.”

Often, conversations of climate responsibility areaccompanied by finger-pointing, as foreign nations are accusedof being more culpable of pollution than others. Regardless ofwhether this is the case or not, the DoD recognises theimportance of acting in the face of a growing catastrophe.Proactive steps are needed now to install climatecountermeasures around critical infrastructure to speed the

process of climate adaptation and defend against the rapidchanges our planet is poised to undergo.

In the last few months, military assets in the US have beenheavily leveraged to better support wildfire management,evacuation of disaster areas, and the repair of nationalinfrastructure in missions that servicemen will no doubt onlybecome more familiar with in the future.

Our militaries uniquely possess the agility, manpower,communications network and rugged technology to respond tothese threats, which the DoD fully intends to utilize. Thepermanent role our military forces will play in our oncoming warwith an increasingly inhospitable climate, but we can be certainit will not be a passive one.

Hurricane Irma on Sint Maarten (CaribbeanNetherlands) September 2017, Ministry of DefenceNetherlands

GMC

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Multi-orbitconstellationSES, a leader in global content connectivity solutions, operates the world’sonly multi-orbit constellation of satellites that uniquely combines globalcoverage and high performance. SES leverages its vast and intelligent,cloud-enabled network to deliver high-quality connectivity solutionsanywhere on land, at sea or in the air, as the company services a wideecosystem of customers, including organisations in the tele-communications industry, cloud service providers, broadcasters and videoplatform operators, as well as governments. Today, the company isdelivering connectivity to defence, security, humanitarian, civiliangovernment organisations worldwide. Nicole Robinson, Senior VicePresident of Global Government for SES, outlines the demand on thisarena and how she anticipates its evolution.

Nicole Robinson, Senior VicePresident of Global Government forSES

GMCQ&A

O3b mPOWER

Laurence Russell, News and Social Media Editor, Global Military Communications

GMC: We’re excited for the launch of your next-generation MEO satellitecommunications system O3b mPOWER, could you introduce us to it?Nicole Robinson: SES has been offering low-latency, high-throughputconnectivity to its customers using O3b medium Earth orbit (MEO) capabilitiessince 2014, when the initial O3b constellation became available. That constellationhas been in such high demand from government and other customers since itslaunch that we’ve had to consistently add more satellites. The upcoming O3bmPOWER is the next generation of the MEO satellite service.

O3b mPOWER was designed leveraging the insights we gleaned from ourinitial O3b users. We took what we knew of the high-throughput, low-latencyenvironment and magnified it into what will be the next-generation system that isinitially comprised of seven satellites.

These new satellites will be seamlessly integrated into our services and willdeliver an exponential increase in capability. Each of the satellites will offerthousands of beams that can be digitally steered and controlled to deliver tailoredservices. That optimisation could be contingent on the amount of data, the sizeof the beam, and unique needs of the user, enabling dedicated services from50Mbps up to 10Gbps more dynamically than any other communications system.O3b mPOWER also will include a variety of intelligent, application-specificCustomer Edge Terminals integrated with SES’s terrestrial network anddynamically optimised using the recently announced Adaptive Resource Control(ARC) software system, further boosting O3b mPOWER’s market-leadingflexibility.

Being a truly revolutionary, terabit-scale system, O3b mPOWER will deliver

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in a way no other satellite constellation can, so we’re reallyexcited about it. It’s set to launch in 2021 and we’re eager todeliver on our customers’ growing requirements.

GMC: Do you have any comment on your upcomingcollaboration with SpaceX to launch your new O3bmPOWER satellites?Nicole Robinson: We are thrilled to work with SpaceX again.SpaceX has been a longstanding partner of SES. We were thefirst commercial Falcon 9 customer back in 2013 and were alsothe first to make use of SpaceX’s reusable launcher in 2017.

As the leader in global content connectivity solutions, SESis committed to helping foster and support the emergingcommercial space launch industry. Back then, we believed itssuccess would benefit the entire sector and serve to delivernew advancements and innovations that make space moreaccessible and efficient for everyone, and it did!

GMC: What are the advantages of MEO against otherorbital domains?Nicole Robinson: We do not limit ourselves to MEO only,bringing to the customers the benefits of both geostationary

SES multi-orbit satellite systems

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(GEO) and MEO satellites. MEO operates at 8,000km versusgeostationary which is at 36,000km. If you think of that in termsof a flashlight, if you’re holding it out from a further distance,light can spread over a wider area, but when you’re holding itcloser, you get more concentrated light. A similar principle existsfor satellite performance across the various domains. You gethigher throughput and lower latency at closer orbits.

There are advantages to both, depending on a customer’srequirements and use case. For example, the MEO satellitesbeing located closer to the Earth’s surface enable them to deliverhigher throughputs at lower latencies, while GEO satellitesprovides comprehensive coverage over at least 1/3 of the worldwith one beam. Our multi-orbit fleet of GEO and MEO, as wellas the extensive ground infrastructure, gives us the ability todeliver the most optimal solution based on a user’s requirements.

Today, SES satellite-enabled services play an integral rolein a number of government applications and missions, enabling,for example, comms on the move (COTM), or deliveringintelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) data in realtime to those that need it. Over the last year, we’ve also beenshowcasing and demonstrating the advantages of using MEOfor connectivity with UAV platforms.

Thanks to the advantages of MEO, we’ve been able, forexample, to connect users to live, full-motion video whilesimultaneously operating three independent sensors. We’vefound that utilising the higher throughput, changes the ISRlandscape from the ground up. And we can confidently say thatMEO is a sweet spot for latency comparing to other non-Geostationary (NGSO) systems.

GMC: Innovative technologies you are implementing arecertainly effective for various markets you serve, such astelecommunications. Are they optimised for governmentneeds and applications?Nicole Robinson: From the birth of SES, we’ve worked todevelop capabilities that helped to establish and maintain areputation as a trusted, effective provider of SATCOM forgovernments and institutions. SES has made relevantinvestments in its satellite and ground infrastructures to ensurethey have the reliability required by government users.

Going forward, with the O3b mPOWER service, we’reworking very closely with our government customers toanticipate exactly what security and mission assurance featureswill be required at the Earth stations, including encryption,tracking, telemetry, and control.

GMC: What can you say about cloud adoption and othertrends?Nicole Robinson: The largest trends today are very muchfocused on digital transformation and implementing newtechnologies that will help governments do more in an efficientway. We’re seeing for example a number of exciting cloudinitiatives cropping up across governments, as well as aconstantly increasing interest in a wider cloud solutions adoption.Thanks to the satellite-enabled capabilities, cloud services arenow available to users when and where they need them – evenin places where terrestrial networks are unavailable, denied oruntrusted.

The bandwidth requirements from ISR platforms alsocontinue growing tremendously, especially as applications shifttowards HD full-motion video. It is expected that the data raterequirements for the UAV platforms will be more than doublingby 2026 comparing to currently observed values.

Another great example of how satellite-enabled networkscan make a difference can be seen in morale, welfare andrecreation (MWR) programs. Data requirements for people’swelfare is growing: While traffic requirement stood at 1-2 Mbpsper site in 2011, minimum requirements now range from 2-6Mbps per site and expected to continue growing. Todaygovernments that are looking to recruit and retain personnelhave found that connectivity in this context also matters

tremendously. Many young recruits have been raised onconnected devices and networked platforms. They’ve had accessto them for almost as long as they can remember, so when theyenlist and suddenly, they can no longer be accessed, they feellike they’ve had a part of them taken away. To meet this demandfor MWR services and make enlisted personnel feel more athome and at ease, governments are increasingly turning tocloud-based MWR services.

While this isn’t what someone might think of whenconsidering core defence services, especially when you starttalking about social media or gaming, research has found theyplay a role in why recruits leave the defence sector for example.It’s something that those without digital-native upbringings havelong dismissed as unnecessary or even counterproductive.Access to connectivity is now a right, and we are proud to enablethe delivery of connectivity and make sure we are keepinggovernment personnel around the world satisfied and beingconnected with their loved ones. GMC

Photo courtesy of SpaceX

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Protection of mission critical C5ISRequipment is vital within electronicwarfare

Mobile ISR team. Photo courtesy of HUBER+SUHNER

In an era where electronic warfare continues to grow,military groups must be able to access technology superiorto their adversaries in order to maintain effective homelandsecurity. Mission critical C5ISR equipment must remainsecure and operational so that communication systemsremain open so that our military forces can properly protecthome interests.

The electromagnetic spectrum (EMS) has long beenconsidered as a tactical warfare domain alongside land, air,sea and space. EMS superiority, known to most as ‘spectrumdominance,’ is a key strategic priority in nearly all defensebudgets of developed nations in the modern era. As the world’smilitaries increasingly rely upon seamless electroniccommunication systems for multi-domain battlefield readiness,protecting these mission critical networks from disruption andcatastrophic failure becomes paramount.

Conversely, the ability to utilize electronic warfare (EW)tactics to incapacitate or destroy enemy offensive engagementsand Command, Control, Communications, Computers, CombatSystems, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance(C5ISR) activities is critical to military preparation in the 21st

century.The pervasiveness of the usage of the EMS in the everyday

lives of developed nations – the control of electronic grids andinfrastructure, the flow and security of data and the autonomy

Mike Teri, Market Manager Defense, HUBER+SUHNER

of defense systems - just shows the havoc a critical networkfailure could wreak on a vulnerable grid.

The importance of protectionThe concept of the electromagnetic pulse (EMP) as aweaponized phenomenon first came about after the famousStarfish Prime test in 1962. The detonation of a 1.4 megatonnuclear warhead, roughly 240 miles above the Pacific, resultedin catastrophic damage to electrical infrastructure nearly 1,000miles away. It was then recognized that a high-altitudeelectromagnetic pulse (HEMP) could undermine the military andcivil infrastructure of an entire region, causing a communicationsblackout without a single casualty.

Protection of defense equipment became big business bythe mid-1970s. This was the time that top secret experimentswith high altitude nuclear explosions of the 1950s were revealedto the public. As a result, HUBER+SUHNER was entrusted withthe task to develop and supply EMP protection components forimmediate integration into Swiss defense and civilcommunications networks.

Since then, HUBER+SUHNER has established andexpanded its specialization and subject matter expertise for thistechnology segment, which is suppor ted by in-houseperformance verification capabilities for the nuclearelectromagnetic pulse (NEMP) test pulse of 5/200ns. Protectionneeds have increased substantially over the decades, withelectronics graduating from resistant electronic tubes to muchmore effective and therefore, sensitive solid-state integratedcircuits.

In addition, the introduction of sophisticated special electronicwarfare attack systems known as E-Bombs, has increased thethreat to communications. Producing similar EMPs to NEMP, E-Bombs are used as tools for electronic and information warfare

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Vehicular mounted electronically steered phased array radar. Photo courtesy of HUBER+SUHNER

to target key information infrastructures. Due to their classifieduse, there is little information on the true risk they pose, thereforenations should look at adopting even more advanced protectionmeasures to evade these ever-emerging threats.

Significant counter measures neededWhile there are various types of ‘soft’ EW tactics designed totemporarily disrupt C5ISR networks such as missile guidancesystems, navigation systems and jamming equipment (anti-jamming), more focus should be put on the protection of mission

critical circuits from destructive EW measures.Today, Fast Electromagnetic Pulses and High-Power

Microwave (HPM) are the most critical electromagnetic attackmechanisms employed by militaries worldwide. The integrationof HPM, also known as Directed Energy Weapons (DEWs), hasbeen effective as counter-drone and anti-missilecountermeasures. High power microwave emitting devices aredesigned to enter enemy targets through an antenna or sensoraperture to disrupt, incapacitate, or destroy sensitive circuitryand eliminate the threat. GMC

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Adapt and integrate newtechnologiesViasat is a provider of high-speed satellite broadband and securenetworking systems delivering services to both military and commercialverticals. The company has been working closely with western militariesto modernise infrastructure and to embrace new solutions. Ken Peterman,President of Government Systems at Viasat, discusses new technologiescurrently in the works.

Ken Peterman, President ofGovernment Systems at Viasat

GMCQ&A

Photo courtesy of Viasat

GMC: Before addressing solutions and goals, could you substantiate theconcurrent challenges around technology in the defence sector?Ken Peterman: This is something I can say connects to my 40 years in thedefence sector. The first two decades of which, when I was working as an engineer,was a particularly exciting time. We were inventing solutions that’d never existedbefore: GPS, blue force tracking, mobile networking, satcom, cybersecurity, andso on. These weren’t new iterations of existing technology; they were entirelynew. The UK and US defence forces trailblazed these together to improve missioneffectiveness and personnel safety.

In the second twenty years of my career, we started to see the private sectorbegin to embrace these technologies to keep them effective, investing fasterand with greater agility than federal groups were. We saw mobile networking,cloud technologies, artificial intelligence, and vastly more powerful military satcom.Technology got smaller, lighter, and more efficient, and networks richer and morewide-ranging.

I think the challenge is for our acquisition process to adapt with the times andintegrate new technologies, which are advancing faster than we’ve ever seenbefore. We used to invent all our tools in house, but the start-up mentality has


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changed that. We have to learn to go to innovative providers toassess, adopt, and evolve the kinds of solutions they offer. Thisallows for a new approach to development where we have amuch greater plurality and agility, with a wide market of optionsto choose from and that we can rapidly switch between.

There’s a certain culture to this modality that we’re still

embracing, which may have led to some oversights. I believewe’ve seen our men and women in uniform move from the cuttingedge to starting to fall behind in terms of some of thetechnologies they have deployed. Whether that’s because othersare moving faster, or we’ve started to stumble, is anotherconversation, but Viasat is aware of the ways we could morequickly move our forces forward which we’re working toincorporate better.

GMC: What can younger, digital-native personnel offercompared to the expertise of prior generations?Ken Peterman: We have an enormous opportunity in countrieslike the UK to gain a human advantage, because our youngpeople are growing up in a connected world. Children of veryyoung ages are coming online the minute they wake up. Talkingto friends, hearing news, or consuming media. They leverageconnectivity every day, moment to moment, on an almostcognitive level.

Their real time decisions are informed by data. When theygo to lunch, they’re not wondering what’ll be on the menu,because they’ve already looked it up hours before. When theygo somewhere new, they’ve already seen the route and street-viewed the area. This is made possible by incredible technologiesthat we wouldn’t have thought possible twenty years before butare now practically taken for granted.

Everyday consumer applications have allowed young peopleto reflexively stay two steps ahead of their day. Viasat is alreadyworking closely with leading cloud-technology providers todeliver these same AI and machine learning capabilities toenlisted forces so they can stay two ahead of their objectives.We want the kind of technical agility they’ve come to expect tobe ready and waiting for them in the defence sector.

Military satellites and other emergent technologies can stayahead of threat profiles, facial recognition, and routing. Many ofthese applications are the same kinds of solutions they’re alreadyused to in a consumer space that have been optimised for tacticalpurposes.

Perhaps most relevant are the machine learning technologiespredicting our movements and making decisions to assist ourcommute to work. Imagine how powerful a smart system likethat could be if optimised for everchanging, high risk parameters,networked across any number of allied persons.

With this kind of real time intelligence, we couldn’t only expecta warfighter to gain efficiency, we could also greatly minimisecivilian injuries and casualties, which are most often caused byintelligence not recent enough to perfectly inform a strike.

I don’t think it’s merely our job to bring those technologiesinto force, but rather our obligation. Our military, and thetechnical, conscientious personnel serving in it should not bedeprived of the razor-sharp systems that they can so naturallyinterface with. That’s why Viasat is so passionate about adaptingthose innovations for tactical applications. There is a degree ofeffectiveness and precaution that we’re currently missing outon, and we have to do everything we can to close that gap.

GMC: You’ve observed that a MV-22 Osprey aircraft has lessdata connectivity than a low-cost home broadbandconnection. How does this shortcoming affect capability?Ken Peterman: This is one of the things creating significantgrowth for us here at Viasat. We have about 6,000 employees,3,000 of which are engineers and 1,000 of which are veterans.I have a story about one of them quite pertinent to this; we hada former marine with us who we sent on a business trip. On theflight, he had access to Viasat connectivity which offered abroadband connection comparable to the kind you’d be able toget in a home office.

This young marine found that simple connection quiteastounding, because he’d never seen anything like it whileserving on an MV22 aircraft. He saw a young child streamingcartoons in the seat behind him, and it made him proud to havecontributed to bringing a service like that to the public. He called

Image courtesy of Viasat



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a meeting when he landed and spoke to us to ask why it hadbeen so simple to deliver reliable connections to everyone onboard a commercial flight, including young children, whenservicemen had no such thing.

He spoke about times during his service when he and histeam had been in the air for up to three hours at a time movinginto a potentially hostile situation without any real connectivity,and he shared that those were some of the most terrifyingmoments of his career. He had been waiting for hours, withoutaccess to any new information, with nothing but the dread thatthe situation he’d been briefed about could have completelychanged. Threat profiles could have updated, civilians or friendlyunits could have moved into the area, there’s no end to thepossibilities he couldn’t verify. An awful lot can change in militaryterms over just three hours.

If a few meetings, a contract and a quick hardware upgradewas what it took to set up a commercial airliner to connect everysingle passenger, what’s stopping us doing the same for ourservicemen whose job it is to maintain peace on our planet?

And our engineers and designers responded, “well, we can!”So, we started working more closely with Air Force SpecialOperations Command (AFSOC) who helped us upgrade fourdifferent models of deployed aircraft, which ran missions in themiddle east, and within a very short window, we’d seen dramaticreports of the value those refits has driven. Servicemen werelive-streaming ISR video and up to the minute news or contactingany number of networked personnel around them. Telemedicinewas leveraged in the case of injuries, so medics or even doctorsacross continents could be made aware of a case of traumaand advise nearby personnel on the best possible course ofaction.

This happened to break ground and got some powerfulmilitary decision makers talking. The exact scale of thatmovement is a bit too vast to quote specific numbers on, butViasat has found itself on a very steady path on integratingconnectivity to new fleets.

We fit A-kits for permanent connectivity, and fit B-kits formore interchangeable solutions which can be rolled on to or offof aircraft fairly quickly.

These are affordable, rapid refits borne out of capabilitiesfrom the private sector. Defence groups don’t have to reinventthe technology or develop it, they just adopt and adapt an existingsolution and get it running to their specifications.

The Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) did a study thatrevealed that it takes about 8-14 years for internal defence

entities to move from a validated requirement to an instance inwhich the solution to that problem is issued to an activeservicemen who is able to actually use it in the field. That amountof time spans perhaps four technological generations in ourmodern world. With those kinds of limitations, your equipmentis bound to roll out behind the curve.

These are some of the reasons why we so strongly believethe existing culture needs to be transformed to betteraccommodate the innovation and agility of the private sector.

GMC: What new trends, technological or otherwise do youforesee millennial and gen Z personnel trailblazing in theyears ahead?Ken Peterman: I think that once we establish assuredconnectivity at the tactical edge, as we’re doing with mobilenetworking, satellite applications, and cybersecurity, we’re goingto start to see two channels in which young personnel thrive.The first is the one I’ve been illustrating, bringing high-spec,disruptive private sector technologies to defence networks. Theraw applications of the innovations themselves.

The second possibility is in the unforeseen applications notadvertised by companies, but more actively discovered in thefield. Methods of hybridising separate applications to gainadvantages we can’t quite imagine yet, trailblazed by those whounderstand the technology reflexively enough that unforeseen,symbiotic tactics start to emerge. We’re talking about defencespecific developments driven by military arms themselvesirrespective of a commercial utility, pioneered by digital nativepersonnel, both active and technical, who possess intimateunderstanding of them and the requirements of their objectives.

When some of the most successful apps we use today werelaunched, they were solutions no one could have predicted wouldexist five years previously. Those were truly disruptive inventions,so much so they left the industry stunned and struggling to keepup.

Just to name one possibility; what if every serviceman worea body monitor? Command could use that data to tell when asoldier needed support without them needing to be stableenough to radio for such a request. The power of this sort ofubiquitous connectivity can be rather alarming, and that’s simplywith the cases we can imagine.

The possibilities are seemingly endless and present a newfrontier that we can certainly expect to result in fundamentallysafer, more responsible, and more effective defence forcesworldwide. GMC

Photo courtesy of Pexels

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April issue.pmd 08/04/2020, 17:0423

https://rebrand.ly/tbj3hpg



Mobile satelliteterminalsThe battlefield has become increasingly mobile andsophisticated over the last 100 years, necessitatingincreasingly mobile and sophisticated communicationssolutions. Satellite continues to play a key role, withadvanced, mobile terminals enabling reliable, secure andassured communications.

Mobile satellite terminals have proven a game-changingtechnology in a massive range of industries across the world;whether we’re talking about commercial aircraft flying at 35,000ft,shipping vessels in the middle of the ocean, or scientistsexploring remote and rural locations, having instant access toinformation on the go has never been more important, nor morepossible.

The first commercial mobile satellite service (MSS) systemwas brought into being in the 1970s in order to address theurgent needs of the maritime community. In the followingdecades, as mobile satellite terminals have become increasinglyadvanced and low cost, and the demand for constantconnectivity-on-the-move has skyrocketed, the MSS sector hasreally come into its own. The oil and gas, disaster recovery,agriculture and remote healthcare industries, among others,

Amy Saunders, Editor, Global Military Communications

have benefited immensely from this enhanced connectivity.However, it’s difficult to highlight a sector that has made betteruse of mobile satellite terminals than the defence industry.

The mobile battlefieldThe battlefield has always been mobile, of course, but it has notalways had access to reliable, secure and assuredcommunications on the move. Before the technologicalrevolution, battlefield communications were relayed bymessenger, flags, smoke signals, drums or trumpets; suchcommunications were exceedingly simple, such as ‘attack’ or‘retreat’ by necessity, usually required line of sight, and were farfrom instant. Radio communications, with message sent viaMorse code, were introduced in the late 1800s, although securitywas a clear and common problem.

With the advent of satellite communications systems in thetwentieth century, battlefield communications were completelyrevolutionised. Complex messages could be sent securelybetween commands and across the globe, without line of sight,extremely rapidly, and whilst on the move. Indeed, with groundforces operating in an increasingly sophisticated and fast-movingenvironment, effective satellite communications have becomecritical to mission success.

As warfare has modernised, mobility has become a keyelement in the battlefield communication sphere. With skirmishesbeing fought all over the world, and often in remote, rural orunconnected locations, it’s important the communicationsequipment be highly mobile, necessitating small, lightweightterminals. The commercial satellite sector has proven invaluablein advancing mobile satellite terminal technology, pushingcapabilities to the very limit as efficiently as possible, much tothe benefit of the defence industry.

Market developmentsIn such a vital market, many major satellite industry playershave developed mobile satellite terminals to meet the exactingmilitary standards; Hughes, Norsat, ST Electronics iDirect, Cubic,Cobham Satcom, Intellian, Get SAT, SpaceBridge, UHPNetworks, Intelsat General Corporation, C-COM SatelliteSystems, DataPath, General Dynamics, ND SatCom, etc. Newproducts are being launched all the time, each boasting oftechnological advances, smaller form factors, lighter weightprofiles, higher speeds.

In July 2019, Get SAT introduced its new Nano SAT-H, avery small and lightweight Ka-band terminal with an integratedBUC. The new terminal meets the requirements of military,defence and security markets that need full broadbandcommunications – voice, video and data – in a minimum sizedpackage to empower decision making on the constantlychanging battlefield.

The result of Get SAT’s development of micronizedtechnologies, Nano SAT-H is an ultra-portable lightweight, low-profile terminal optimized on-the-move solution. Replacing atruck load of equipment, the terminal, weighing only 3.6kgincluding an integrated BUC, LNB and ACU, providesautonomous operation for transmission and reception of highbandwidth data-rates with any L-band satellite modem.

“Get SAT opens a new era of real-time video, audio andinformation flow by providing direct high bandwidthcommunications between ground or aerial forces andheadquarters,” said Kfir Benjamin, CEO of Get SAT. “The initialmarkets for the terminal are on the battlefield via a highly portable‘man-pack’ and in the satcom system of small UAVs. Ourexperience in the military and security fields enables us to workclosely with clients to create secure, rugged solutions that meettheir distinct needs for seamless on-the-move communications.”

Meanwhile, in September 2019, Intelsat GeneralCommunications (IGC) launched FlexGround, a new servicethat provides military troops around the world with fast, resilientand secure communications for mobility applications requiringcompact terminals. FlexGround supports a range of lightweight

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Nano Sat-H with radome. Photo courtesy of Get SAT

tactical and early entry user terminals, includingcommunications-on-the-pause (COTP), manpack andemergency responder communications. It enables data, voiceand video communications including the ability to meet the HighDefinition Full-Motion Video (HD FMV) needs of intelligence,surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) applications. The newservice delivers the following features:

• A high-performing, resilient and easily accessible network.Leveraging Intelsat’s multi-layered, Ku-band network andIntelsat EpicNG HTS platform, FlexGround deliversunprecedented data rate transmissions enabling convergeddata, voice and video communications to the smallest, landmobile terminals. The combination of very high data rates,between 3x and 10x the speed of existing satellite networks,and the very small terminals provide ground forces with theoptimal solution for mobility without sacrificing speed.

• Unprecedented flexibility, efficiency and affordability.FlexGround also enables government customers to selectamong several service options, allowing them to choose aplan that is based on their data-rate usage, geographic andbudgetary needs, without having to make an upfrontcommitment. FlexGround offers a flexible pay-as you gooption that provides a budget friendly cost structure. Theflexible service options provide for a full-time lease for longduration missions, or usage based on-demand service forlimited-duration needs such as emergency response.

• Advanced interference mitigation capabilities. IntelsatEpicNG satellites have smaller spot beams and an advanceddigital payload which helps to quickly identify and mitigateattempts to disrupt signals in the field. Anti-jammingcapabilities, combined with multiple layers of resiliencyprovided by Intelsat’s global network, ensure always-onconnectivity, secure communications, and most importantly,a layer of security for the people who depend on them.

“Our new FlexGround service ensures that tactical users inremote environments around the world can stay connected,”said Skot Butler, President of Intelsat General. “The service’shigh data rates and open architecture enable ground forces to

use a wide array of ultra-portable antennas, providing them withthe mission agility they need. The flexible service plans, pay-as-you-go option, and global availability enable troops to quicklyaccess the connectivity they need whenever and wherevernecessary.”

In others news, November 2019 saw Viasat’s AN/TSC-241Multi-Mission Terminal (MMT) begin the UK Ministry of Defence(MoD) Skynet satellite communications architecture assuranceand certification process, which will authorize the terminal’soperation on the Skynet X-band system as well as othergovernment and commercial networks.

Viasat’s tri-band multi-network software-defined MMTdelivers high-quality IP-based voice, video and data networkingacross multiple networks in both highly contested and benignenvironments around the world. Using a portable terminaldesign, the MMT is an ideal networking solution for forwardoperating bases, enabling users to securely access networksand establish command post communications quickly andeasily. During the 2018 multinational Saber Strike exercise,which trained US, NATO and coalition forces on security andthreat preparedness, field personnel were able to use the MMT’sintegrated smartphone app to easily establish communicationswith minimal training. Other field-proven performanceadvantages of the MMT included: Enhanced connectivity with asmall footprint; resilient, high-quality performance on multiplenetworks; added flexibility; and ease of use.

The MMT is designed to switch between both governmentand private sector assured, resilient, integrated networks (ARIN).In addition, the MMT’s CBM-400 software-defined modem allowscustomers to switch between multiple waveforms as well asmultiple networks and upgrade to Viasat’s next-generation Ka-band network. The CBM-400 is also the first software-defined,multi-waveform, certified modem available to US and coalitionmilitary organizations.

“By certifying Viasat’s MMT on the Skynet architecture, theUK MoD will be able to maintain the operational and informationadvantage needed in today’s escalating threat environment,”said Ken Peterman, President, Government Systems, Viasat.“The MMT will provide the UK MoD with easy access to secure,resilient, high-speed, multi-orbit, multi-frequency band and multi-network SATCOM architectures, which will deliver the advancedconnectivity needed to integrate into the battle-network of thefuture.”

A mobile futureMobile satellite terminals will play a fundamental role on thebattlefield for a long time to come. As such, we can expect tocontinue to see advances, meeting defence demands forreduced size, weight and power (SWaP) products, with increasedoperational and cost efficiencies, in the years (and maybedecades) to come.

Photo courtesy of Viasat

GMC

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How the military and defense sectorcan harness wearablesWearable technology is due to take the world by storm inthe coming years, with the military in particular, standing,to benefit a great deal. Connecting man to machine is oneof the major challenges with next generation wearabletechnology, and one that Rajant is working on incooperation with the US military.

As the Internet of Things (IoT) market continues to boomalong with the many services it enables, it is showing no signsof letting up anytime soon. As a result of this growth, the wearabletechnology market is, in turn, increasing at a breakneck pace.According to Statista, the number of connected wearable devicesworldwide is expected to grow to over 1.1 billion by 2022.

Globally, countries continue to target the wearabletechnology market due to the vast amount of consumer potentialand the number of sectors where it can be applied. Wearabletechnology can be used and utilized across a wealth of industriesincluding military and defense, fitness, medical and healthcare,retail, public safety, and education.

The explosion of connectivity options and the developmentof 5G have opened up a host of possibilities for the wearabletechnology market to explore and prosper, and businessesshould be keen to invest.

Limitless possibilitiesWearable technology is rivalling the likes of the smartphone asthe top consumer product of choice as the user wants this toenable an easier life all-round. A device which can supplementhow the consumer uses the smartphone, has long battery lifeand fits onto the body seamlessly and securely is sought bybusinesses looking to provide the consumer with the next must-

Michael J. Van Rassen – President, Military & GovernmentMarkets, Rajant Corporation

have device. Over the last decade, the market has continued toexpand as it was worth more than US$50 billion in 2019 andhas doubled in size since 2014.

Portable, wearable technology will be commonplace forbusinesses across a host of sectors for years to come.Importantly, it enables mobility and flexibility, which are keyfunctions of fundamental importance for organizations as theyvie to remain as competitive as possible, as well as continuallyimprove their operational efficiency. In vast environments andindustries with many workers, staff safety and the monitoring ofstaff movements are paramount. Wearables will help make thisa reality.

Wearables will provide consumers in the fitness sector withthe opportunity to track calories, measure steps, and monitorsleep activity, as well as reach daily targets. This functionality tolog information on a real-time basis is a key advantage. In thehealthcare market, utilizing wearables to enhance the quality oflife and remotely monitor patients’ wellbeing is of fundamentalimportance and cannot be overstated. From monitoring bloodoxygen levels to using the equipment to detect issues acrossthe body from the brain to vital organs, wearables play anincreasingly important role in today’s digitalized world.

Connecting the military and defense marketOne key area for this technology is the military and defencesector. In 2019, the military wearable sensors market wasestimated to stand at US$179 million. There has been a growingnecessity to connect armed forces personnel and assist defenseteams during military operations. Not only can wearabletechnology allow control room teams to monitor soldier safetysafely, but it can also provide the tools to enhance andsubsequently improve their overall efficiency.

Military forces have been adopting the likes of smart clothing,sensors, smartwatches, and cameras to track, monitor, andcommunicate effectively. The likes of smart clothing can ensurearmed personnel can withstand harsh climates and can self-

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regulate temperature. It is also beneficial to have biometricsensors for monitoring body temperature and heart rate as wellas tracking mechanisms to ensure soldiers remain safe and outof danger.

In equal measure to wearables, drone and unmanned aerialvehicle (UAV) usage has been on the rise for militaryorganizations as they can be used to capture valuablesurveillance to identify and, potentially, eliminate hostile threats.Having never-failing connectivity is crucial for military anddefense organizations to fully reap the rewards of this technology.

In military operations, teams must have devices that allowreliable and never-failing communication. Often in cases ofvarying climates and challenging environments, troops wouldneed to have sufficient battery life in radios to ensure groundteams can keep in constant communication. Establishing andmaintaining broadband connectivity in hostile and remoteenvironments is essential for teams to monitor situationalawareness, convey important and mission-criticalcommunications, and to implement tactical strategies.

Connecting man to machineThe challenge remains for the connected soldier of establishingconnectivity in variable and dense terrains as factors such asinterference and managing the volume of communications canprove problematic. Rajant Corporation has demonstratedsuccess in providing battle-proven, rapidly deployableconnectivity for mission-critical communications to overcomeenvironmental adversity. Its resilient, self-healing broadbandconnectivity can ensure safety and survival are achieved inbattlefield operations. When on the move, either by foot or in avehicle, whether in open air or underground, Rajant’s KineticMesh® networks can ensure soldiers stay connected.

Significantly, Rajant worked alongside the US Military, andover a six to seven-year period, the military helped fund thedevelopment of Rajant’s operating system. The KineticMesh networks provide durable connectivity under challengingconditions, with its InstaMesh® networking protocol enablingthe network to remain fully operational even if radio frequencies

are jammed, dynamically utilizing all available frequencies. Thisis crucial for military teams in situations that depend on cutting-edge communications to avoid serious consequences.Impressively, if there is interference on any one of thefrequencies, the network node can autonomously route wirelessand wired connections over the best available links to completeits transmission. This combination of total mobility, resiliency,scalability, and extreme ruggedness provides optimalconnectivity for military organisations. Without a single point offailure, the network provides robust fault tolerance, highthroughput, and low latency regardless of the situation. Thisincludes if an enemy was aiming to block essentialcommunications. Rajant’s work is not just limited to each soldier.Convoy vehicles can be linked with Rajant BreadCrumbs, thusimproving the vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications. Thisallows all voice, video, and data communications to remain ona localized network even if the vehicles are compromised.

Rajant’s DX2 in the mixFurthering the man to machine connection, Rajant introducedits DX2 in late 2019. The Rajant DX2 represents the roundingout of Kinetic Mesh nodes. Encased in magnesium and weighingonly 123g, the BreadCrumb DX2 is well placed to be used forlightweight autonomous vehicles, drone swarms, and smallrobots. With a pocket-sized footprint and very low payload weight,DX2 provides the mobility and adaptability required to be usedin both military and commercial applications.

The DX2 uses a single-transceiver and MIMO-antennasystem with low power consumption. It can be combined withall other radios in the Rajant portfolio, including LX5, ME4, andES1, to form a total mesh solution. Its option of 2.4GHz and5GHz radio frequencies can help support a variety ofapplications across an array of different environments (a multi-transceiver in additional frequencies is under development). TheDX2 has an integrated Wi-Fi access point service forcompatibility with millions of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS)client devices, such as laptops, tablets, smartphones, IPcameras, sensors, and other IP devices.

Wearables are the futureAs new technology continues to arrive in the market, the desireto connect man to machine has never been higher. With thewearables and UAVs markets continuing to grow at anexponential rate, it is clear a host of different verticals are keento adopt and harness the technology with the military anddefence sector remaining firmly at the forefront. Organisationsmust realize the immense importance it can have on enhancingcommunications in mission-critical situations to keep theconnected soldier striding forward.

Michael J. Van Rassen – President, Military &Government Markets, Rajant Corporation

GMC


April issue.pmd 08/04/2020, 17:0427




AR technology and itsfuture roleEdgybees is a developer of augmented reality (AR) software designed tooverlay video footage with curated information, for use with manned andunmanned devices with video capability to deliver a video feed thatprovides a wide range of actionable data to an operator. Adam Kaplan,CEO and Co-founder of Edgybees, discusses the nature of the software,its applications, and what role he thinks AR technology will fill in the future.

Adam Kaplan, CEO and Co-founderof Edgybees

GMCQ&A

Photo courtesy of Edgybees


GMC: Edgybees is a relatively new company, founded in 2016 arounddelivering your augmented reality platform. Could you introduce yourcompany to us?Adam Kaplan: Interestingly, we started off as a gaming company. One of thefirst products we worked on was an ambitious augmented reality (AR) gameassisted by drones.

Think of yourself flying a drone through a fantastical environment generatedwith AR, not unlike the Death Star’s meridian trench that Luke had to carefully flydown to reach the station’s thermal exhaust port in the movie ‘Star Wars - A NewHope.’ As we developed that project, we found that there were a lot of peopleoutside of the gaming industry interested in the idea of taking data and augmentingit onto real-time video. In particular, a number of public safety entities, such aspolice and fire departments that are currently investing in drones to assist theirsituational awareness during crises.

A bird’s eye view is a fantastic vantage point, but the problem is that it’s quitedifficult to understand scenes from so high up. Details become tiny, people becomeunrecognisable, geography looks different. Simply put, you don’t have contextfor much of what’s going on from that perspective, and a bird’s eye view suddenlybecomes a lot less useful due to how abstracted it is.

What we did was develop software that allows data to be fused onto thosekinds of high-altitude real-time images. The first time we ever used this applicationfor the commercial sector was in late 2017. Our software was used to augmentthe street maps over the flooded urban areas affected by Hurricane Irma. Up-to-the minute information about where survivors were known to be trapped wasplaced onto live drone footage, assisting responders with exactly what theyneeded to know to act quickly and efficiently.

Shortly after that, the defence sector started to express interest in our worktoo. We’ve now started working with the US Department of Defence and the USAir Force to take multiple manned and unmanned aerial aircraft and accuratelyfuse geolocational data onto the video feeds that those assets run. Our platformcan be used with very large UAVs anywhere from 30,000ft up in the sky, down to

April issue.pmd 08/04/2020, 17:0428




small tactical drones optimised for flying at just 100ft. There’s agreat deal of versatility in our platform.

GMC What about other applications for AR overlaying dronefootage?Adam Kaplan: Our platform is quite simple. We can provideapplications to anyone that works with both video and data thatcan be connected to it, which spans a great variety of industries.

AR software has been used for sports entertainment, in oiland gas verticals for maintenance and surveying, as agriculturaltechnology allowing farmers to observe livestock and crops, andof course within defence. The ability to use overlays to indicatewhich military units are friendly with blue force tracking, thenames of streets and geographical formations, and so on, assistssoldiers and first responders immensely, making for a much moreintelligent and agile asset.

Anyone who has data and live video, and wants a morecomprehensive and informative product, will be interested inwhat we’re doing.

GMC: What can AR deliver to meet the needs of securityand defence?Adam Kaplan: From a security and defence standpoint, thosegroups will often have many data feeds from intelligence groups.When people are piloting large drones, they may find themselveslooking at up to six different screens. We’re able to take all sixscreens and condense them into a single operational picturewhere all associated video and data can be combined into asingular package, making for a more effective, informed operator.

GMC: The Edgybees platform looks quite impressive. Doesthe system have any limitations?Adam Kaplan: Though I wouldn’t call it a limitation, onerequirement that our solution demands is the understanding ofthe positioning of the camera and the direction it’s pointingthrough GPS and the metadata associated with that hardware.After all, there’s not much geolocational AR can tell you if thesoftware doesn’t even know which way the camera’s pointing orwhere it is.

Whether due to distance or video quality, visual data capturedby aerial cameras is not particularly accurate. Our aim is tointegrate precise data into video feeds to deliver a more completeand informative image, as opposed to traditional static feedsfeaturing potentially indiscernible actors and locations oftenunrecognisable from abstracted angles.

GMC: In the information era we find ourselves in, real-timedata seems to be more important than ever. Do youanticipate visual intelligence overlays like yours eventuallybecoming a completely ubiquitous technology?Adam Kaplan: Looking at the media landscape around us, thereare more video feeds across countless applications than everbefore. Not only from aerial platforms, but CCTV, body cameras,all forms of video produced by media entities, millions uponmillions of feeds across the world — all of which stand to benefitfrom having relevant data attached to them.

The applications of real-time AR overlay are staggeringlyextensive. It’s not difficult to imagine what can be achieved withthis kind of technology - from being applied to live video feedstaken by drones in defence missions, to enhancing a viewer’sexperience of a pro golf broadcast - and after that breakthroughhas been realised, it could change the world. We’re excited tobe a part of that.

GMC: Until relatively recently, AR has been a concept fromthe world of science fiction. What breakthroughs havebrought the technology to life?Adam Kaplan: There’s a number of different components thathave made our platform possible. Computational power was anissue standing in the way of this technology for some time, whichwe’ve solved by applying novel computer vision algorithms andedge devices to produce the kinds of results necessary tostructure data in response to real-time video.

Cloud computing is also a big pillar for us. As we enter theworld of 5G, we’re starting to see networks faster than everbefore, which has made these kinds of futuristic technologiesincreasingly possible and prevalent.

GMC: Do you have any predictions for how AR will bedeployed in the future?Adam Kaplan: I think augmented reality allows for the ability tovisualise information in ways we haven’t been able to before,which allows us to understand far more from a singular image.For too long people have considered this technology to be akind of novelty or something relative to the world of video gaming,but truthfully there are many, many practical applicationssurfacing.

The ability to share data visually is the future. As humanbeings, 85 percent of our actionable sensory information isvisual, which is why we make such efforts to meet each otherface to face.

We’re building a visual intelligence platform which cancontextualise any video in real-time. Informing people in themoment, which keeps operators informed and on task, allowsus to save more lives in a crisis and widen our horizons beyondwhat we thought possible.



GMC

April issue.pmd 08/04/2020, 17:0429




Serco Inc., a provider of professional, technology, andmanagement services, has been awarded a new contract fromthe US Space Force to manage, operate and maintain theGround-Based Electro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance(GEODSS) system.

The contract has an eight-month base period and six one-year option years with a total value of $57 million.

The GEODDS system supports the US Strategic Commandand theater war fighters’ requirements through the detectionand surveillance of deep space satellites using one-metertelescopes that are equipped with highly sensitive digital cameratechnology. The GEODSS system detects, tracks, identifies andreports on all deep-space man-made objects in the Earth’s orbit.Both new objects that are discovered and objects already inthe catalogue require regular observations in order to keep theorbit information accurate.

Under this new contract, Serco’s operators will be performingspace observation, including operating the telescopes,maintaining and supporting the systems, and logging andreporting the findings in support of the Combined SpaceOperations Center (CSpOC), the National Space DefenseCenter (NSDC) and the 18th Space Control Squadron (SPCS);Serco operators will also be undertaking Space Object

Serco awarded new $57 million US SpaceForce contract to support deep spacesurveillance system

Identification tasks in support of the National Air and SpaceIntelligence Center (NASIC). Serco will provide operation andmaintenance (O&M), along with exercise and testing, andmission systems maintenance including repairs, logisticsmanagement, civil engineering, and support depot modifications.Work will be performed at all three geographically-separatedGEODSS locations in Socorro, New Mexico; Diego Garcia,British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT); and Maui, Hawaii.

“This is an exciting new win for Serco in supporting the USSpace Force and their GEODSS systems as it goes throughupgrades and expansions,” said Dave Dacquino, Serco Inc’sChairman and CEO. “This win builds on Serco’s presence inthe space domain, in particular our UK & Europe division withits contracts in earth observation support services andspacecraft and satellite management.”

Serco has extensive past performance experiencesupporting the Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) under theAFSPC C4ISR and C4I2TSR contracts. Serco Group, as aninternational services Company, has supported space projectsfor over 50 years. Today the company has highly skilled scientific,technical and engineering teams supporting military and civilianspace programs in Europe, the UK, Australia and now in theUnited States.

Photo courtesy of Serco

GMC

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march/april 2020 · 2020. 5. 6. · | march/april 2020 3 global military communications magazine...

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