How commercial satellite constellations fit into the Army’s future tactical network designs

Andrew Eversden

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JOINT BASE MYER‐HENDERSON HALL, Va. — The U.S. Army will begin implementing advanced satellite communications technology to increase network resiliency as part of its next iteration of tactical network tools.

Adding low-Earth orbit and medium-Earth orbit capabilities commercial satellite constellations into the service’s tactical network repertoire is part of the service’s effort to shift to dispersed battlefields, instead of the fixed fiber communications and forward operating bases that defined the last two decades of war in the Middle East.

As part of the service’s next delivery of tactical network tools, known as Capability Set ’23, Program Executive Office for Command, Control, Communications-Tactical will use “existing” MEO capabilities, considered more mature than LEO, to support the new battlefield communications, according to Rich Hoffman, lead electronics engineer for SATCOM at the C5ISR Center.

PEO C3T and the Network Cross-Functional Team officials hosted reporters at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall this week for a presentation of new network tools, including new tactical radios, satellite terminals and command post network infrastructure.

The preliminary design review process for Capability Set ’23, which just concluded this week, includes an initial low-Earth orbit satellite connection “at the halt” to support the command posts.

But to support the dispersed and joint war-fighting operations of future wars in places such as the Indo-Pacific, the Army needs several options to route communications in case one option is interfered with by an adversary.

“Look at this as just yet another layer. LEO, MEO, GEO — if any one of those layers may not be available or taken out” there are other options, Brig. Gen. Robert Collins, the leader of PEO C3T. “We are not going all in on a single layer.”