[Satellite News 04-30-10] With its ComsatBw Stage 2 program, the German Armed Forces now control their own dedicated telecommunications satellites. The program is comprised of the ComsatBw-1 satellite, launched in October, and the ComsatBw-2 satellite, which is scheduled to be placed in orbit by Arianespace in May.
    Colonel (GS) Andreas Post, branch chief of communications for the German Federal Ministry of Defense, spoke with Satellite News about the importance of the satellite for the German military and how the military’s short- and long-term space strategy.

Post: The ComsatBw program originated in the early 90s, when the German Bundeswehr deployed for its first out-of-area mission in Somalia. At that time, the German military faced the challenge of establishing a secure, reliable and highly available communications network between the theater of operations and the military organizations controlling and supporting the troops from Germany for the first time. Although the basic requirements for military satellite communications have hardly changed since then, the current expansion level of ComsatBw phase 2 exceeds initial requirements. This program is supposed to tackle an unprecedented variety of applications and services, accompanied by the growing demand for strategic and tactical satellite communication links, which finally have arisen from Germany’s increased worldwide engagement.
    The main challenge for this satellite network supporting the various services and applications is the need of capacity and bandwidth efficiency. Launching two military owned satellites with X-band payloads in 2009 and 2010, therefore, ensures needed capacity for future demand. Additionally, the German military promotes a continuous innovation process to keep up with upcoming needs for satellite capacity.

Post: The main purpose of satellite links operated by the German military is to provide long-distance strategic communication channels between Germany and the theaters of operations through a fiber-based terrestrial network to permanent as well as transportable networks within the mission area. The second application involving satellite communication links is the tactical data transmission within theater. Local networks are typically established by German troops using portable satellite terminals together with radio relay networks and radio transmission systems. Information will be gathered not only by voice but also with numerous sensors and surveillance platforms, for example, unmanned aerial vehicles or carry-on equipment onboard vehicles. Each soldier will be equipped with a couple of sensors gathering valuable information. Dedicated experts will evaluate, filter and consolidate the raw data collected by different platforms to put together all given information in order to establish a map of the local situation.  Afterwards, this information will be transmitted to a certain person or military unit requesting it.

Post: Since our second satellite ComsatBw-2 will be launched within the next months, short-term solutions for the improvement of the communications bandwidth requiring changes of the satellite payloads will not be available. Therefore, we have started research of alternative technologies capable to increase the data rate for fixed power and transmission bandwidth as well as for a given payload design and performance. In the meantime, we have started to take a closer look at the overall satellite network performance in order to optimize it by means of cutting-edge technologies. We have committed ourselves to operate our satellites at their best, and we are very confident with respect to emerging technological opportunities, which we are going to identify step by step.

Post: We will not make general commitments since each application has to be considered individually. Each satellite project is based on very distinct requirements determining its practical realization. For example, if there are hard limits in terms of security or if there exists a need to control the satellite solely by German military, an adequate solution will probably omit the idea of a hosted payload. However, there could be situations and applications where the requirements are more ordinary and where economic restrictions suggest splitting up the risks and opportunities linked to the development, launch and operations of a complex technical device like a satellite. In such cases, a public-private partnership or a shared payload might be a reasonable approach, and, of course, we are always open for reasonable solutions.  ComsatBw phase 2 follows this idea and balances military owned satcom resources as well as leased commercial satcom capacities.

Post: Information superiority is a key success factor for military operations. Without satellite networks any information superiority would be impossible. It is imperative to permanently improve and extend our capabilities for the safety of our troops in the field. Satellite networks are the backbone of our communications since they are the main channel for the exchange of huge amounts of data between the soldiers in the field and the experts in the rear part or in the home country, especially in theaters where no reliable and secure terrestrial networks are available.