Harris Corporation
Achieves Uplink to Milstar Satellite Via Advanced EHF Navy Multiband
Communications Terminal
(16 October 2006) Harris Corporation
today announced that it is the first company to successfully uplink to a
Milstar satellite using an Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) Navy
Multiband Terminal prototype system.
This milestone follows the
company's announcement last month that it was the first to acquire and track
low- and medium-data-rate waveforms on Milstar 6 using the same prototype
terminal. An SCA 2.2.1-compliant software programmable modem developed by
Harris was instrumental in both successful demonstrations. Once fielded, the
terminal will serve as the common element of naval information networks,
providing interconnection of individual naval assets with other services and,
eventually, with the Global Information Grid.
In 2003, Harris won a
contract to develop four prototypes for the next- generation AEHF Navy
Multiband Terminal. The U.S. Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command is
scheduled to perform a competitive downselect and issue a contract in June 2007
for the engineering, manufacture and development (EMD) phase of the program.
Should Harris win the EMD phase competition, the overall value of the program
for the Harris team could exceed US$ 1 billion by 2015.
"This uplink
demonstration marks another defining milestone in the development of
next-generation, Navy protected SATCOM terminals that offer multiband
communication capabilities in a single terminal," said Sheldon Fox, vice
president and general manager of the Department of Defense Programs business
unit of Harris Government Communications Systems Division. "We now have
successfully achieved both uplink and downlink capabilities ahead of schedule -
key steps in demonstrating that our next-generation AEHF terminal can
communicate successfully with Milstar satellites."
Acquisition of and
uplink with the Milstar satellite was performed at the Harris Naval SATCOM
Integration and Test Facility in Palm Bay, Florida, utilizing a KGV-136, the
newest generation cryptographic unit. The successful demonstration was the
culmination of two years of Harris-sponsored waveform design and
hardware/software development as part of the prototype competition sponsored by
the Navy Program Executive Office for C4I.
Coupled with an earlier
demonstration of the new, extended data rate (XDR) waveforms and the Milstar
downlink capability, this latest demonstration confirms that Harris is on plan
to provide U.S. Navy ship, submarine and shore installations with full access
to the communications capacity provided by the AEHF satellite constellation.
This approach offers the Navy better access to SATCOM assets and increased
bandwidth, as well as protection from jamming and interception of
transmissions.
The Navy Multiband Terminal Phase 1 Program is a 43-month
effort to design and develop prototype Q-band SATCOM submarine and shipboard
terminals in support of the U.S. Navy's FORCEnet concept. Additional phases
will add high- performance Ka- and X-band capabilities to the common terminal.
The resulting system will replace current single- and dual-band terminals,
yielding significant life-cycle cost reductions and improved
reliability.
"Success in the Q-band prototype phase, coupled with
Harris' legacy as the provider of the Navy's current generation of multiband,
super-high-frequency (SHF) wideband terminals, uniquely qualifies Harris as a
leading Navy Multiband Terminal supplier," added Fox.
Harris Government
Communications Systems Division conducts advanced research studies, develops
prototypes, and produces and supports state-of-the- art, assured
communications(TM) solutions and information systems that solve the
mission-critical challenges of its military and government customers, while
serving as the technology base for the company's diverse commercial businesses.
Harris Corporation is an international communications and information
technology company serving government and commercial markets in more than 150
countries. With headquarters in Melbourne, Florida, the company has annual
sales of US$ 3.5 billion and nearly 14,000 employees, including 6,000 engineers
and scientists. The company's four operating divisions serve markets for
government communications, RF communications, broadcast communications, and
microwave communications.
(source: Harris Corporation)