Raytheon has formed a partnership with Ultra Electronics’ business unit Gigasat to provide advanced communications capability to the US Army.
In May, Raytheon won a potential $663m, ten-year indefinite-delivery indefinite-quantity contract to deliver Troposcatter communication systems to the army.
The systems will provide soldiers with secure voice and data communications in contested environments.
As part of the partnership, Ultra Gigasat will provide its Troposcatter antenna solution. The antenna will help soldiers carry out mission-critical communications in the field, as well as command and control.
Troposcatter will ensure troops have access to a communications capability in the field in areas not equipped with a reliable source of satellite communications coverage.
The Troposcatter terminal will establish a reliable and secure communications network for troops deployed anywhere in the world.
Ultra Gigasat business unit director Mark Aitken said: “The operational requirements of today mean that troops are required to deploy to a variety of environments where access to satellite coverage and power is not guaranteed.
“Reliable, secure communications is a vital component of operations and is essential not only to the success of missions, but also to protecting soldiers’ safety. Our partnership with Raytheon will ensure that the capability is readily available to provide soldiers with deployable communications tools, regardless of whether or not satellite coverage is available.”
Raytheon completed testing and analysis of the Troposcatter antenna to verify whether it meets mission requirements.
The company tested the antenna’s capability to support deployment in any field of operation and whether it can be assembled easily without requiring additional equipment.
Ultra Gigasat stated that the terminal will be able to operate even in harsh conditions.
