Photo: Via Satellite

Hughes Network Systems has been awarded a follow-on contract to continue the second phase of a pilot study program to assess the feasibility of interoperability across multiple satellite communication systems for the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD). Under this award, Hughes will be responsible for prototyping a Flexible Modem Interface (FMI) for military terminals that will enable various military and commercial systems and services to interoperate in the field.

The new study is to assess what the ideal military satcom architecture would look like and how diverse systems could work together. As part of the overall assessment, Hughes will be evaluating the needs and capabilities that DOD will require in the future, including a secure and affordable Wideband Communications Architecture (WCA) that can facilitate varied and redundant space and ground transports. The FMI prototype will be demonstrated within the context of a mission management architecture that supports wide-beam, spot-beam, and on-board processing satellites, including new Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) High-Throughput Satellite (HTS) and Low Earth Orbit (LEO) constellations.