Page 44 - Australian Defence Magazine February 2022

44 SATCOM
FEBRUARY 2022 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO DEFENCE’S MILSATCOM REQUIREMENTS
NIGEL PITTAWAY | CANBERRA & MELBOURNE
Tenders for Defence’s $3 billion Military Satellite Communications (MILSATCOM) system closed on 10 January, with bids from five industry teams expected to be in the box.
UNDER Joint Project 9102, also known as the Australian De- fence Satellite Communications System (ADSS) program, Defence has a requirement to establish a secure communi- cations network by the beginning of the next decade.
Like many emerging space nations, Australia desires to establish a sovereign space capability but is a relative late- comer to the industry. One of the key tenets of JP9102 is an
RIGHT: The Airbus proposal for JP9102 is based on the UK’s Skynet service.
Saber Astronautics, Titomic and Viasat, has responded with a solution based on the US prime’s WGS-11+ satellite. The same day Lockheed Martin also announced its team, including Av-Comm, Calytrix, Clearbox, Conscia, DXC, EM Solutions, Linfox, Ronson Gears, Shoal Group and
STEM Punks, had submitted a bid.
Team Maier currently includes Blacktree, Clearbox, UGL
and Willyama. Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) has also recently been announced as the first Industry Develop- ment Partner.
Team Aussat, led by Optus and including Raytheon Aus- tralia and Thales Australia; and Northrop Grumman, with Inmarsat and L3 Harris, are also likely bidders, but neither had made a formal announcement as this issue of ADM closed for press.
DELIVERING A SOVEREIGN
MILSATCOM CAPABILITY
At the time of the tender submission, Airbus JP9102 Cam- paign Lead Martin Rowse provided some initial details of Team Maier’s holistic approach to a sovereign MILSAT- COM capability, which he says will also benefit Australia’s nascent space industry and maximise AIC.
Rowse said the proposal has two major elements: the de- livery of a sovereign satellite communications system that meets the ADF’s requirements and timeline; and an option- al long-term skilling program which, with start-up funding from Airbus and Federal and State Governments, will be- come self-sufficient over time.
Pointing to the company’s expertise in establishing sover- eign satellite delivery, operation and sustainment in countries such as the UAE – which has a broadly similar requirement
“DEFENCE HAS A REQUIREMENT TO ESTABLISH A SECURE COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK BY THE BEGINNING OF THE NEXT DECADE”
Australian Industry Capability (AIC) in the MILSATCOM field and Airbus recently revealed it had submitted a bid for the program, which not only covers delivery, operation and sustainment of a sovereign satellite communications system, but the option of developing a sovereign space ecosystem.
Under Team Maier, Airbus proposes a capability based on the UK’s Skynet 6A satellite, but it is also promising to assist in the development of a training pipe- line which stretches from secondary- school to post-graduate qualifications.
JP9102 OVERVIEW & TIMELINE
Defence’s current MILSATCOM capability is provided by commercial satellites with a hybrid military/civil payload, such the Optus C-1 and Intelsat 22, and via access to the US military Wideband Global Satellite Communications (WGS) network through JP2008.
The original timeline for JP9102 called for the first sat- ellite to become operational in 2026, with a full capabil- ity in the early 2030s and, following closure of the RFT, a down-select is anticipated in the third quarter of 2022 and contract award in early 2023. Initial Operational Capability (IOC) is planned around 2027, at which point the transition from the WGS network is expected to begin.
A FIVE-WAY COMPETITION
ADM understands there were five responses to the RFT in- cluding the Airbus-led Team Maier. On 10 January Boeing announced its team, which includes Clearbox, Indigenous Defence and Infrastructure Consortium (IDIC), Leidos,