UHF Tacsat complements strategic operations in the modern connected battlespace

Airbus recently attended the 2022 GOVSATCOM Conference in Luxembourg, an international event that brings together SatCom companies from satellite, governmental, institutional and defence fields. During the conference, Sarah Casenove, Head of Satcom Services Solutions here at Airbus, explained how UHF Tacsat complements strategic operations in the modern connected battlespace.

“We rely on space communications for the conduct of our operations every day; it is the backbone to support the flow of data and to foster information superiority” said Sarah during her presentation at GOVSATCOM.

Watch the full video of her presentation during the conference.

Preparing the future with SatCom

Space communications have become an essential military solution for connectivity needs. Armed Forces rely on SatCom to support their flows of data in order to guarantee constant connectivity, however, with demands for SatCom growing, they need to be prepared for the future.

UHF SatCom for tactical communications 

UHF SatCom first appeared in the 1960s to enable radio users to have a resilient network that was insensitive to weather. As well as being secure, reliable and flexible, UHF SatCom is an adaptable solution. It enables soldiers to have little to no advanced training before use; a technology appreciated by operational staff due to its ease of use and deployability. It also has a range of dimensions from a "walkie-talkie" to large infrastructure terminals. Interoperable within NATO nations and retro-compatible with older systems and legacy technologies, it provides a unique feature to conduct tactical operations at a strategic level. 

Different modes of UHF SatCom exist such as dedicated DAMA (Demand Assigned Multiple Access), DAMA IW and STC (SatCom TDMA Capability). This allows for ranging amounts of voice and data links to be transmitted in a channel depending on the mode deployed; up to 14 simultaneous voice links are possible. 

Next UHF, secure and resilient SatCom service

Next UHF is an Airbus-owned service that is based on a hosted payload on board the Eutelsat 36D satellite. Located in a perfect orbital position for European, Africa and Middle Eastern operations, the hosted payload solution at 36 East guarantees an exceptional and non-pre-emptible provision of UHF based services. It will carry 18 UHF channels which will provide secure control links and support common legacy UHF terminals. The payload is operated by Airbus from protected and guarded sites.

Next UHF can be operated in any case of tactical strategic operations whether in the army, in a coalition operations or in a navy operations.