Viasat headquarters in Carlsbad, California. Photo: Viasat

Viasat revealed the availability of a government-focused terminal modification kit that aims to provide third-party terminal vendors with regional access to satcom architectures including hybrid, multi-network architectures. The modification kit is available for immediate purchase and testing by third-party terminal providers working with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and international coalition militaries.

The third-party terminal kit aims to allow the U.S. DoD and coalition forces to use their inventory of existing satcom terminals to access networks, without needing to completely replace the entire set of terminal equipment. By implementing hybrid multi-networking architectures that integrate and leverage a multi-vendor terminal architecture, U.S. DoD and international military forces can expect: simplified logistics and lower total ownership costs by standardizing large multi-mission fleets; compatibility with existing Medium-Earth Orbit (MEO) and Geostationary Orbit (GEO) commercial and military satellites; an end-to-end network architecture that aims to provide mitigation against congestion, intentional, and unintentional interference sources and cyber threats; and forward-compatibility with next-generation high-capacity satellites, like the ViaSat-3 constellation.

“Governments and militaries around the world need to invest in future-proofing solutions that will provide an easy path to optimize and incrementally upgrade their existing satcom network assets, while also providing the flexibility to adopt emerging technologies and cloud-based systems needed to outpace adversary threats,” said Ken Peterman, president, Government Systems, Viasat. “By working proactively with a number of partners that offer government-focused commercial off-the-shelf terminals we can enable an open, robust, scalable satcom network that provides U.S. and coalition government customers with a variety of options to quickly address diverse mission needs; meet dynamic demands of today’s warfighter-on-the-move; and enhance the defense technology capabilities needed to deter adversarial threats.”