A Reliable Battlefield Network Automation for Robust Connectivity
by Juan Manuel Martinez
Madrid, Spain, September 6, 2021--According to NSR the Satellite Communication Government and Military market will be reaching an overall revenue of US$ 93 billion by 2029. The increasing need for resilient and real-time connectivity from the Government and Military Sector for Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) and Command and Control (CC) functionalities, lead to robust ground infrastructure, to enable new applications to enhance operations.
The Ground segment will have a key role, as it will be critical to unlocking the full potential of the Satellite connectivity and data exchange. The main requirements for Government and Military Markets regarding the ground infrastructure are clear, lightweight systems that are able to provide multi-band, multi-orbit and multi-network connections seamlessly and accurately, for providing connectivity to the troops, tracking the enemy positions and triggering any action to prevent or mitigate threats. Lightweight antennas are being the main characters of this new paradigm, as they can be managed electronically, automating some tedious processes, such as deployment or configurations, as well as predictive maintenance. Being able to adapt to the complex network architecture is key as it is required in military operations. SatCom on the move is critical for maintaining the communication on moving troops and acquire the necessary data in real-time to make the right decisions. The driver for these new is the new constellations, which demand technologies that enable a No Touch Commissioning solution, being totally automated without the need of any human interaction with Artificial Intelligence.
Electronically steered antennas integrated with the appropriate auto commissioning technology provides a new way of remote service commissioning and installation, which is a great advantage for Military services, for example in a conflict location with extreme conditions where surveillance might be totally dependent on external forces, the field troops will need to gather all efforts and resources in maintaining the data exchange and tracking secure, having room for emergency manoeuvres. Ground technologies are the key driver to succeed in a fast and reliable network deployment which is essential when troops are in a position of jeopardy.
The only application ready for the current Military and Government needs is Satmotion API by Integrasys, a No Touch Auto Commissioning system supported by the latest antennas in the market, from VSAT to FPAs and electronically steered antennas. The technology developed by Integrasys enables to configure and obtain the necessary measurements and parameters to automate the commissioning process without the need for interaction and remote connectivity recovery and without the need of involving additional hardware. The new tool is a patented technology that calculates instantly the Copol, Xpol, and P1db, which are the most important metrics to optimize the link for high bandwidth, to obtain the highest quality signal and avoid distortion and interferences. Another important point is the autonomy of Satmotion API, which can make an independent remote setup without the need to call to the NOC, which is a tedious process for the troops, and sometimes conditions are not suitable to invest time in having a call with the NOC. The auto commissioning tool also checks the process in order to know instantly if something went wrong, so if there is a hardware failure that is not working as it should or if the signal is distorted at some point, the troops can fix it on the fly.
For the mobility network deployment in the Defense field, it is essential to consider the needs required to succeed in land mobile, maritime, and aero missions. The antennas that need to be placed are ESA, as these devices offer more autonomy, control, and tracking possibilities, due to the fact that ground technologies such as Satmotion API can be integrated within the ACU, so the deployment can be done just by adjusting automatically the required parameters and the data management can be stored securely.
The future network commissioning for military services is here and with it, the need for flexible electronically steered solutions, that provides multi-band, multi-orbit, capabilities in order to automate the commissioning process become a must for implementing a robust, real-time and reliable network infrastructure. The new market trends carried out by FPA manufacturers open a door for the automation and virtualization of the network, and ground technologies that are able to be integrated with these electronically steered solutions are mandatory to make the most out of these new systems, especially for the military sector.
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Juan Manuel Martinez is the Technical Director of Integrasys S.A. based in Madrid, Spain. INTEGRASYS offers a wide range of Satellite Carrier Monitoring and Interferences Detection Systems operating in L, C, X, Ku and Ka frequency bands. For more information on Integrasys’ products go to: www.integrasys-space.com
