Tags: VSAT, Iraq, iDirect, Foreign Military Sale
Publication: Army-Technology.com
Publication Date: 01/03/2013

Army National Guardsmen assemble a VSAT satellite receiver dish. Image credit: Georgia National Guard

Iraq has requested the supply of VSAT operations and maintenance services, equipment installation services, upgraded VSAT managed and leased bandwidth, and video teleconferencing equipment from the United States. The U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) has notified Congress of the potential Foreign Military Sale (FMI).

The sale would be worth approximately $125 million and would also include the supply of 75 VSAT equipment suites, which comprises 1.8m VSAT terminals, block-up converters (BUCs), low-noise down converters (LNBs), required cables and components, iDirect e8350 modem, network operation and dynamic bandwidth equipment and iMonitor software.

The request would improve Iraq’s military capabilities, as the services would be used to provide command and control for the country’s armed forces.

By supporting the development of the Iraqi Defense Network’s (IDN) VSAT terminals, the sale would follow the United State’s foreign policy by directly enhancing the security of an ally country.

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