Military chooses tactical communications terminals from Viasat to help maintain RF situational awareness
REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. – U.S. military communications experts needed multiband secure RF communications for a variety of military applications. They found their solution from Viasat Inc. in Carlsbad, Calif.
Officials of the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency Aviation at Redstone Arsenal, Ala., announced a $28.4 million sole-source five-year contract to Viasat last week for Small Tactical Terminals (STT).
Viasat engineers developed the Link 16/Secure UHF Line-of-Sight (LOS) Small Tactical Terminal (STT) KOR-24 together with Harris Corp. (now L3 Harris) to merge air and ground situational awareness at the tactical edge.
Packaged in a small, lightweight, ruggedized form factor, the STT brings mobile network connectivity to tactical warfighters and disadvantaged platforms such as ground vehicles, small boats, ships, helicopters, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
Interoperable with the Multifunction Information Distribution System (MIDS) Link 16 and UHF Data Radios, the STT enables users to exchange secure situational awareness information and critical data communications with allied air, land, and sea platforms over Link 16 or UHF to help maintain the tactical picture and avoid blue-on-blue engagements, Viasat officials say.
The STT combines Link 16 technology from Viasat with Harris UHF radio heritage to provide interoperability with MIDS Link 16 terminals, JTIDS, or UHF data radio systems deployed around the world. This device also supports all TADIL J network messages, including Network Enabled Weapon (NEW) messages.
U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) uses the Viasat STT to link ground vehicles, small boats, ships, helicopters, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). SOCOM uses the STT as aircraft radio that supports two channel simultaneous operation.
Infantry warfighters and disadvantaged nodes can use the STT to deliver mission-critical connectivity and total battlefield visibility.
For more information contact Viasat online at www.viasat.com, or the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency Aviation at www.dla.mil/Aviation.
