Page 44 - Australian Defence Magazine November 2019

VIASAT
COMMS AND C4I
SATCOMS
“A demonstration of the HAN concept will be on show at MilCIS this month, making the 1s and 0s more accessible for the user community to see in action.”
Offerings
Of the companies in the mix, both Airbus and Viasat are strong contenders across the spectrum of the work packages available; from the large bus sized satellites in geosyn- chronous orbit to the anchor stations, ter- minals and the programming behind them.
“In order to provide a system where all components work together to provide resil- ience, it is necessary for a prime contractor to ensure a perfect integration of all compo- nents,” according to an Airbus spokesperson.
“This approach has enabled Airbus to develop and deliver Milsatcom capability to Governments around the globe, includ- ing the UK, Germany, Spain, and the UAE. Airbus will look to draw on its experience to bring together the best elements from Australian industry and beyond to take re- sponsibility to deliver a highly resilient and fully sovereign system, crafted for Austra- lian requirements, without compromising with the mission, ensuring at all times that the men and women of the ADF can rely on their satellite communications even when others are trying to disrupt and deny their ability to communicate.”
The company is looking to draw on its programs in France, Germany, UK and Spain to deliver capability under JP9102.
“One example for the Airbus heritage is the Skynet 5 system where Airbus delivered a complete end to end capability providing very high levels of protection to the UK MOD and also own and operate that system on behalf of the UK MOD and allied nations,” the spokesperson said. “This system includes Skynet 5A which is currently operating in an Australian registered position and has its traf- fic anchored through a facility built by Air- bus near Adelaide before being sent on to the UK and other customer networks.”
Earlier this year Airbus also signed an agreement with Hisdesat to supply two new satellites - SpainSAT NG 1 and SpainSAT NG 2 which will provide services to the Spanish Ministry of Defence in X, Military Ka and UHF bands. These satellites will have advanced protection for anti-jamming and anti-spoofing, plus hardened protection
against nuclear radiation. The satellites are based on Airbus’ new geostationary telecom- munications platform called Eurostar Neo and feature electric propulsion, flexible pay- loads, software defined antennas with in-or- bit reconfiguration and on-board digital pro- cessors for X and military Ka cross banding.
The company is also looking early at iden- tifying where it can partner with local in- dustry to support its space efforts.
“Airbus is actively engaging with Austra- lian industry to ensure that we maximise Australian industry involvement in the proj- ect and build an enduring Australian indus- try capability benefit beyond the delivery of the system,” the spokesperson said. “Key to this is identifying and positively engaging with small to medium sized enterprises and Indigenous business enterprises to detect areas of collaboration, including possible in- vestment in innovation with collaborative re- search and development efforts in Australia.
“We are currently running a 4 phases
Viasat says it is looking at the program a little differently.
circular approach, building on preliminary identification, ensuring the fit to mission, supporting for integration to our industrial setup before becoming operational. On the 60 plus companies met and interviewed, more than 20 have shown a good fit and strategic discussions are ongoing or planned with a fair number.
“The end result would be establishing, transitioning or enhancing skills, knowl- edge, systems, technology and infrastruc- ture within Australian industry, and devel- opment of Defence export opportunities both within and outside of Airbus’s global supply chain. Of course, as you can imagine, our views are not only Australia and a good fit down under will most probably be a good fit on a global scale,” the spokesperson said.
Satcoms as a service
According to Viasat’s Ken Peterman, presi- dent of Government Systems based in Cali- fornia, Viasat are looking at the program a little differently.
“The Australian Department of Defence has the opportunity today to harness the power of both military and commercial sat- com networks simultaneously by integrat- ing these networks into a hybrid adaptive network (HAN) architecture,” Peterman explained to ADM. “A HAN maximizes warfighter capabilities and resilience by
44 | November 2019 | www.australiandefence.com.au