The IW is designed to deliver voice and data assignments across 5 and 25 kHz UHF channels to make the most efficient use of its UHF satcom assets. It also aims to improve voice quality interoperability with U.S. military forces in theater.

Included in the turnkey Initial Operational Capability (IOC) installation is ViaSat RT-18xx based terminal hardware coupled with UHF satcom antennas provided by Spirit River.

The next phase in the UK MOD’s advanced UHF satcom networking implementation is Final Operational Capability (FOC), aiming to enable the UK MOD to plan and control two IW master channels simultaneously, including built-in failover redundancy.