Defence satellite communications still up in the air

Our Bureau - : Mar 2, 2023 - : 6:50 am

One programme attracting attention at Avalon Airshow 2023 is the multi-billion-dollar Joint Project 9102 (JP9012), which is a programme seeking a sovereign defence satellite communication system for the ADF. Tender responses closed on 10 January 2022. JP9102 spans with a...

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JP9102 spans with a 25-year operational life, plus ground-based equipment like antennas and modems. This will be Australia’s first sovereign military satellite network designed to increase communications ‘capacity, resilience, agility and flexibility’.

Including lifecycle costs, the project is budgeted at approximately AUD4 billion (USD2.87 billion), and Canberra wants it operational by the middle of this decade.

It is understood that five bidders responded to a request for tender. The five primes are Airbus, Boeing Defence Australia, Lockheed Martin Australia, Northrop Grumman Australia and Optus. Since the government is demanding significant Australian industry content, each prime leads a number of smaller local partners. Ironically, some of these firms appear in multiple tenders.

Optus is Australia’s largest and most experienced satellite operator. Alongside Mitsubishi Electric, Raytheon Australia and Thales Australia, Optus forms Team AUSSAT. Optus has launched ten satellites since 1985.

For its part, Northrop Grumman Australia is working with AECOM, Blacktree Technology, EM Solutions, Inmarsat, L3 Harris and VOCUS.

Lockheed Martin Australia is partnering with Av-Comm, Blacktree Technology, Calytrix Technologies, Clearbox, Conscia, DXC Technology, EM Solutions, Linfox, Ronson Gears, Shoal Group and STEM Punks. Lockheed Martin’s credentials include acting as prime for the US Air Force’s Advanced Extremely High- Frequency (AEHF) SATCOM network that the ADF already accesses.

Boeing Defence Australia’s team includes Clearbox, the Indigenous Defence and Infrastructure Consortium, Leidos Australia, Saber Astronautics and Viasat. The prime is already heavily involved in Australia’s modernisation of the Defence High-Frequency Communications System, and also delivered Project Currawong communications networks. Furthermore, Boeing operates the American Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) network.

Airbus leads Team Maier, incorporating Blacktree Technology, Clearbox Systems, Microsoft, UGL and Willyama. Airbus has experience with Phases 5 and 6A of the Skynet programme in the UK; this satellite cluster is to be launched in 2025.

A decision on the winner of JP9102 was expected before the end of 2022, but nothing has been made public so far. Whichever team the Department of Defence selects, the ADF will have to develop and expand a cadre of personnel able to manage what is a unique satellite capability for the country.

At present, the ADF relies on an Optus C1 communications satellite that is approaching the end of its life. Additionally, the military has access to the American WGS constellation, plus it purchased access to 20 channels on Intelsat IS-22 till 2024.

A serious problem with the WGS system is that access or bandwidth is not always guaranteed, given that Australia is merely a foreign partner and it must endure a delay in turnaround from US Army Pacific. This was experienced during bushfire relief operations in 2020, for example. In wartime, it would be even more difficult to access American satellites, so the concept behind JP9012 makes a lot of sense.

Such satellite communication networks will be even more critical once MQ-4C Tritons and MC-55A Peregrines start operating, as they will produce vast amounts of data that needs to be transmitted.

Airbus-a321lr / Boeing-defence / Avalon-2023 /

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