The Defense Experimentation Using Commercial Space Internet (DEUCSI) program tests commercial LEO capabilities. Photo: Business Wire

The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) awarded SES Space & Defense a multi-year contract to conduct tests of broadband service across a multi-orbit satellite network. 

The award announced Tuesday is part of the Defense Experimentation Using Commercial Space Internet (DEUCSI) program, which is a program for the U.S. Department of Defense to test military communications via commercial satellite constellations across multiple orbits. This specific award is under a part of the program focused on use cases in the Arctic region and airborne communications.

Working as a commercial satcom integrator, SES Space & Defense will demonstrate multi-orbit, multi-band solutions switching between commercial space broadband services in different frequency bands. The company said it will use common hardware elements to minimize constellation-specific hardware. 

SES has been a part of a number of similar demonstrations for the DEUCSI program, including 2022 tests with an All.Space (formerly Isotropic Systems) terminal that established two simultaneous connections with SES satellites in Geostationary Orbit (GEO) and Medium-Earth Orbit (MEO). 

“An integrated multi-orbit, multi-band satellite architecture is a requirement in today’s contested and congested environment for a network-centric military,” commented SES Space & Defense senior vice president of Space Initiatives, Jim Hooper. “The DEUCSI program is a great example to showcase SES Space & Defense’s multi-orbit, multi-band holistic approach.”