The US Army’s Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) has awarded a contract to Kratos Defense & Security Solutions to demonstrate military satellite communications (SatCom) modernisation.
The company has been tasked to build a virtualised SatCom ground system based on Kratos’ OpenSpace Platform.
The platform has an open architecture that supports multiple satellites and payloads. The cloud-enabled, IP and network-centric platform delivers faster operations.
The contract will be funded through the Network Command, Control, Communication, and Intelligence Cross-Functional Team (N-CFT) of the Army’s Future Command.
Kratos’ solution will support the government’s modernisation strategy to streamline gateway and remote terminal capabilities.
This will reduce life-cycle costs and support dynamic space operations.
The solution is expected to support future military SatCom networks with the ability to configure services spontaneously and spin up and spin down resources for multi-mission support.
Kratos Space Technology vice-president Chris Badgett said: “A strategic goal of the military is to operate an integrated SatCom enterprise, which increases assured SatCom access for the warfighter and improves the effectiveness of the infrastructure by enhancing resilience.
“Kratos’ OpenSpace Platform will show how critical satellite network operations can be made interoperable across domains.”
The platform digitises radio frequency (RF) signals to and from satellites. This will help support multiple missions and orbits while operating at a lower cost.
Kratos’ OpenSpace is based on accepted industry standards and promises interoperability while avoiding vendor lock-in issues.
In April 2021, Kratos’ wholly owned subsidiary Micro Systems secured a contract to support the US Army ground aerial uncrewed autonomous systems/uncrewed ground vehicles command and target control systems.
