WEBINAR: Military Satellite Market Trends and Outlook

"As a force multiplier, space assets can provide advanced capabilities and 
compensate for reductions in other conventional assets". 

With a medium-term squeeze on national budgets, there is a growing need to balance military capability, AND AT THE SAME TIME, reduce costs.

Perhaps there was never more need for a force multiplier

In this webinar, Strategy Analytics' Director of Advanced Defense Systems service
 - Asif Anwar - will be examining approaches to target the above:

*  Dual-use or COTS technologies

*  Multilateral cooperation

*  Small satellites

*  Use of Ka-band and Ku-band

*  GaAs, GaN and phased-arrays

This webinar is an opportunity to tune in to the challenging realities facing defense industries in the current economic climate.  Register for one of the two sessions on Tuesday, April 23rd ...

Click Here to register for Session 1  |  Click Here to register for Session 2

 2pm BST (UK), 9am EDT (NY)  |  10am PDT (LA), 1pm EST (NY)

You may know that Asif Anwar is a regular contributor to the 'Expert Insights' Military Defense Column for Microwave Journal.

In electronic warfare (EW) the US Army Contracting Command, MICC, Aberdeen Proving Ground awarded BAE Systems E&IS, Electronic Warfare - Information Dominance Systems (IDS) a contract for procurement of SIGINT Traveler Pod (T-Pod) Systems for the MQ-1C Sky Warrior / Gray Eagle UAS while ITT Exelis has successfully installed and tested an advanced self-defense electronic warfare system on F-16 aircraft operated by an international customer.

Looking ahead, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon joined forces to compete for a US Navy contract that will upgrade the fleet's capability to electronically attack anti-ship missiles.

Through its Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP) Block 3 upgrade, the Navy seeks to cost effectively enhance the electronic attack capability of its AN/SLQ-32 V(3) and V(4) EW systems to counter threat technology advances. All US aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers and other warships use the AN/SLQ-32 EW system.

Staying with EW, the team of ITT Exelis and Boeing has successfully successfully demonstrated multiple critical technology elements, including digital beam-forming, mid band and high band power amplifiers as part of the U.S. Navy Next Generation Jammer (NGJ) program’s technology maturation phase.

The digital beam-forming technology demonstrated recent advancements made in broad band electronically steerable antenna arrays which have come through the use of AESA technology in the radar field. As discussed during the Strategy Analytics webinar, “AESA Radar Trends: Fast-jets and Beyond” AESA technology is starting to extend beyond radar into EW and communications applications and the NGJ program is one example.

Another aspect discussed in “AESA Radar Trends: Fast-jets and Beyond” is the move towards GaN-based technology and NGJ program again affirms our prediction that GaN technology will become a pivotal technology for future generations of radar, communications and EW systems.

Other developments in the first month of January 2012 included Harris Corporation reporting several communications contracts. In the weapons area, MBDA was awarded the FLAADS Demonstration Phase Contract by the UK Ministry of Defence to develop the SEA CEPTOR naval air defence system. Finally, in radar applications, Raytheon received additional contracts for maintenance of the COBRA DANE radar facility while Elta Systems anticipates the first sale of its developmental system as Airbus Military completed initial flight test activities on an AEW&C derivative of its C-295 medium transport.

To read more about defense industry events in January, see Defense Electronics Industry Review: January 2012 which covers defense industry news for the month of January, covering radar, electronic warfare, weapons systems and communications. The report also looks at microwave, optoelectronic and other components discussing business event, product announcments, milestones and contract activity.

Despite the uncertainties as budget cuts loom over the industry, there was continued activity across all areas including contracts, business transactions and technology development in the closing month of 2011.

On the business front, there were also a number of business acquisitions in December with Raytheon acquiring two companies to further extend Raytheon's capabilities to defend against sophisticated cybersecurity threats facing customers in the intelligence community, DoD and commercial organizations. General Dynamics sold its holdings in UAS Dynamics to partner Elbit Systems of America while also completing its acquisition of Force Protection. Back in Europe, a MoU was signed between Cassidian and Alenia Aeronautica to jointly investigate the potential cooperation in the field of MALE UAS and UCAV platforms. Safran and Thales signed a preliminary agreement to form a joint venture to develop and market new electro-optical equipment for the defense market, and Thales also acquired US-based Tampa Microwave to complement Thales’s existing product portfolio and expand its capabilities in the wideband SATCOM domain.

Contract activity remained robust with Lockheed Martin involved in the Aegis program and for the continued contractor engineering technical support (CETS) services in support of the Egyptian AN/TPS-59(V)3E and M34 radar sets. Raytheon booked $320 million in new contract awards related to its AESA radar programs for domestic and international customers while the Missile Defense Agency awarded Raytheon a contract to provide two AN/TPY-2 radars to the U.S. Army as the radar component to the THAAD missile defense system. Raytheon also announced $50 million worth of contract bookings related to its electronic warfare business and was also prolific in the weapons sector with contracts for the Standard Missile-3 Block IIA as well as multimillion-dollar contracts for the Royal Norwegian Air Force (RNoAF) and contract awards the Phalanx, SeaRAM and Land-based Phalanx weapons systems as well as the NATO SEASPARROW surface missile systems.

In the area of communications and navigation, Northrop Grumman announced a follow-on contract by the U.S. Navy to provide integration and laboratory test support for the LN-251 embedded GPS/fiber-optic inertial navigation system on the new CH-53K Super Stallion helicopter and is also working with ITT Exelis to compete for the U.S. Army's new vehicle-mounted, software-defined radio, the Mid-Tier Networking Vehicular Radio (MNVR), which replaces the cancelled Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) Ground Mobile Radio. Meanwhile, Rockwell Collins received an order for more than 20,000 additional Defense Advanced GPS Receiver (DAGR) units for use by the U.S. Armed Services and Allies, while BAE Systems has received a contract to design, install and test onboard radio communications and network capability for the U.S. Navy’s new DDG 113 and DDG 114 destroyers.

On the technology development front, Cassidian introduced the Spexer 2000 Coastal which uses AESA radar technology to provide a multi-tasking and multi-mode capability for wide-area protection of coastlines, maritime infrastructure and harbors against asymmetric threats. Both Raytheon and the ITT Exelis and Boeing Team completed wind tunnel tests for their respective offerings for the Next Generation Jammer, while Lockheed Martin launched a Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System Plus (GMLRS+) rocket in a test at White Sands Missile Range, NM. Finally, Northrop Grumman & TriQuint are collaborating on a DARPA contract through the Microscale Power Conversion program. Northrop Grumman will conduct research on high-efficiency transmitters with GaN Class E power amplifiers in conjunction with RF wideband contour modulation and sub-banded switching supply modulation. The objective of the program is to develop innovative RF power amplifier designs that incorporate supply modulation and control enabled by novel power switch technology. TriQuint Semiconductor will work on GaN and related process technologies.

The F-35 is the leading edge strike fighter of the moment, epitomizing the "fifth generation" of platforms and leading the field in terms of pushing the technology envelope in a host of areas through the development of numerous electronic subsystems. However, the program has been beset with problems including rising program costs, production and testing delays, partner nation commitment, the US and global economics and budget constraints.

Strategy Analytics analysis of the F-35 2011 baseline program projections points to a potential global production of 3,340 planes through 2036. Taking just the recent reduction in order quantity by the US DOD for F-35 fast-jets in 2012, and continued uncertainties in budget expenditures suggests continued shrinkage in the F-35 program. Couple escalating platform costs and delayed deliveries with budgetary constraints at partner nations increases the risk for order reduction or order cancellation. This suggests that the base line projections represent the most optimistic—but arguably least realistic outcome for the F-35 program.

Strategy Analytics has developed a range of alternate scenarios bracketed between the present expressed interest scenario and lower, more limited production case. Early curtailment could be one option with production limited to as few as 877 units but we believe total cancellation of the F-35 program is unlikely. The current environment fits a modeled projection of 2074 units produced through 2036—reducing production over the baseline by 37.5 percent.

See "Production Scenarios for the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II" for additional information.

The thirtieth annual MILCOM Conference and Exposition, "Networks…Attaining the Value," was held at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, Maryland, November 7-10.

The commercial sector will continue to drive innovation and we will see continued use of commercially-based technologies such as smartphones and tablets as well as networks being adapted for use in the military sector. One example was Lockheed Martin’s MONAX provides users with a 4G private network they can operate anywhere. This secure broadband network system connects off-the-shelf Smartphones to a bespoke cellular base station infrastructure that can be carried into a disaster relief area or be used on a FOB (forward operating base). By using a secure RF Link, communications are protected through strong exportable encryption enabling the transfer of pertinent and sensitive information.

Elektrobit was emphasizing the EB Android handset platform which provides integrated cellular connectivity options including LTE with Band 14 support for the U.S. Public Safety market, a high-resolution touch-screen enabled display with superior sunlight readability, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and advanced battery and power management features.

Software is an important lynchpin in the implementation of commercial hardware for military applications and Wind River was demonstrating embedded virtualization and Android solutions at MILCOM 2011 while Twisted Pair was highlighting the company’s WAVE application, designed to enable communications across smartphones, tablets etc. that are using Wi-Fi or cellular networks with tactical radios being used in-theatre.

However, the need for dedicated waveforms, specific form factors and performance capabilities will, for example, mean that devices such as smartphone will not replace tactical radios, but rather be another tool in the warfighter’s arsenal of communications capabilities.

BAE Systems was emphasizing the company’s Link 16 SAFF (small adaptable form factor) terminal which is designed to support future Link 16 enhancements and is used in conjunction with the Data Link Processor (DLP) unit to provide a battlespace awareness picture.

Raytheon’s Maingate system combines a high capacity networked radio with Maingate’s Interoperability Gateway to connect current and future forces to the Global Information Grid. The multi-mode, multi-band radio employs UHF/VHF frequencies (around 700MHz) and can operate in TV whitespace as well and provides up to 2 channels at 10Mbps and is designed to provide a terrestrial ‘Everything over IP’ MANET (mobile adhoc network) backbone to support multiple channels of voice, video, and data. A wideband power amplifier in conjunction with MIMO is used to assign frequencies to the Maingate radio.

Satellite communications is being driven by ISR trends including the requirement to provide real-time transmission of high-definition video and COTM (communications-on-the-move). iGT highlighted continuing growth in terms of providing existing solutions to new customers as well as leveraging trends for IP-based communications on airborne platforms with a shift towards Ka-band, while TCS detailed the implementation of IRIS (Internet Routing In Space) as a means of reducing latency while increasing available bandwidth in satellite communications.

Open architectures and network centricity will drive the future system design with an emphasis on configurability in the digital domain. While the performance of CPUs continues to increase and GPUs are recognized for the extreme parallel processing capabilities, FPGAs from the likes of Xilinx and Altera, for example, will remain the best solution for high-speed I/O processing requirements of military communications systems.

In support of the IP-based net-centric battlefield environment, sub-system vendors are looking increasingly to partner and incorporate RF front-end capabilities into their product offerings. However, the  RF section will still need specialist expertise and technologies dictated in the case of communications by the move towards multi-mode, multi-band systems. NXP was attending Milcom 2011 with a full suite of solutions aimed at the defense market, that extend from the RF front end through to the digital interface and RFMD was also showcasing a variety of GaN-based products, such as high-power unmatched power transistors, broadband power ICs, and broadband power transistors as well as a broad portfolio of point-to-point radio products based around GaAs technology.

Moving forwards into 2012, the impact of budgetary pressures will lead to a change in contracts from “cost plus” to “fixed price” and prime contractors will also expect more “partnering” and investment on the part of the supply chain. While the uncertainties around specific programs will become more extreme, the broad technology trends will allow RF technology providers to invest across a range of programs and help to somewhat mitigate the risk.

The latest ADS monthly review includes coverage of European Microwave Week in Manchester, UK where TriQuint launched a family of reflective GaN-based SPDT (single pole double throw) switches. Operating at 10-40 W over 6-18 GHz, the switches allow designers of defense, aerospace or high-performance commercial systems to use much smaller semiconductor devices in many applications where the only alternative previously option was to use larger, heavier electromechanical devices.

Scalability is another feature often talked about when discussing AESA radar capabilities, and where the STARlite demonstrates lightweight, small sized solutions, the other end of the scale is amply demonstrated by Raytheon’s involvement in the Cobra Judy Replacement program Raytheon has completed the shipboard installation of the Cobra Judy Replacement program's X- and S-band antennas onto the USNS Howard O. Lorenzen. These massive active phased-array antennas weigh more than 500,000 pounds and comprise an estimated 20,000 T/R modules. Northrop Grumman also demonstrated the AN/TPS-80 Ground/Air Task Oriented Radar (G/ATOR) system to senior Department of Defense leaders at the Pentagon as well as the Highly Adaptable Multi-Mission Radar (HAMMR), which is a derivative of the Defense Department's Ground Based Fighter Radar (GBFR).

BAE Systems was involved in multiple activity on the EW front including an announcement that the company will begin full-rate production of the U.S. Navy AN/ALE-55 fiber-optic towed decoy, an RF airborne countermeasure designed to protect the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet from radar-guided missiles. Meanwhile, Italian electronics specialist ELT Elettronica has developed a dedicated command-and-control (C2) system that improves EW capabilities in a network-centric environment and simultaneously resists cyberattacks. The Loki ELT/950 NSM (networked system manager) coordinates and exploits passive and active networked sensors and continuously checks network security.

In the area of smart weapons, Northrop Grumman will provide personnel for expanded operations of Counter-Rocket, Artillery and Mortar (C-RAM) sense-and-warn systems in Afghanistan and Iraq, while ATK has been awarded a contract by the U.S. Navy for a third lot of LRIP Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missiles (AARGM). Meanwhile, the French air force and Naval aviation began operational deployment of the infrared terminal guidance version (SBU-64) of the Hammer IR AASM modular air-to-ground weapon. Developed and produced by Sagem (Safran group), the Hammer AASM is a family of air-to-ground weapons, comprising a guidance kit with an infrared imager in the nose cone, along with the standard hybrid GPS / inertial guidance systems.

Harris led the field in terms of announcements for the communications sector, with the company’s Falcon III AN/PRC-117G radios being selected both by US and international customers. Meanwhile, Boeing announced that it has successfully demonstrated high-data-rate transmissions between a FAB-T system and a test terminal for the AEHF satellite. This was one in a series of development tests that are demonstrating extended data rate voice, text and data communication with a FAB-T unit.

This year's Defence & Security Equipment International (DSEi) exhibition, played host to over 29,000 attendees who converged in London to view possibly the world's largest display of land, sea and air applications of defence and security products and technologies. The exhibition featured almost 1400 exhibiting companies representing 46 countries and included 30 national pavilions.

Key trends observed at the show confirmed Strategy Analytics assertions related to AESA radar, wideband technologies and the expanding mission envelope of UAV platforms.

BAE Systems and Cassidian were both showcasing examples of how quickly AESA technology is now taking over the radar landscape.  A visit to the BAE Systems stand provided a brief overview of the company’s radar portfolio based around AESA technology utilizing GaAs T/R modules. In air defense radar the ARTISAN 3D system includes “e-stab” and along with compact variants, the company currently has 19 systems on order with the UK Royal Navy. On the naval front, BAE Systems has the SAMPSON multifunction radar and the company is also targeting air surveillance and commercial air traffic control requirements with variants of its EWACS multifunction land radar.

Cassidian was showcasing the launch of the TRS-4D naval radar. The TRS-4D is a surveillance and target multifunction radar.  The TRS-4D is an AESA radar combined with mechanical rotation in azimuth to provide continuous 360 degree scanning combined with the ability to direct the electronic beam towards areas of interest for a “deep look” as the beam is deflected. Other benefits cited included the ability to detect more targets and smaller targets down to 0.01m2.

Electronic beam deflection also allows the TRS-4D to significantly improve on the detection offered by conventional mechanically scanned rotating radars which can typically be as high as 6 seconds. Detection target verification time is reduced to 1 second with the TRS-4D. Added flexibility is achieved by stopping the antenna rotation so that a docked ship can perform a horizon search and be used to counter asymmetric threats as well as be used for search and rescue operations. 

Significantly, the TRS-4D is using GaN T/R modules and reportedly represents the first implementation of GaN technology for radar applications at 5~6GHz. The system utilizes a low noise receiver array on GaAs technology and is configured to enable digital beamforming.

Elektrobit is a Finnish company that has worked with the domestic armed forces and international partners for over 15 years. The company’s focus is on tactical communications, EW and SIGINT. While the company has many years of experience, the company has only recently started to productize its portfolio and used DSEi to showcase some of its capabilities, which included wideband sensors for SIGINT and COMINT applications. Elektrobit is also offering a counter RCIED platform that the company is marketing to OEMs and systems integrators for development of products. The company has a roadmap towards networked multifunctional products that will be able to monitor the spectrum and jam intelligently, working collaboratively with a sensor network.

Another company showcasing its products for the EW sector was Netline. An Israeli company, Netline is focused on the development and manufacture of counter IED and RF jammers. Products cover the VHF and UHF frequency range and extend through to 6GHz. Products range from vehicle-based solutions and man portable and include an emphasis on reactive portable jamming. The company uses off-the-shelf PA technology including GaN and LDMOS.

Looking at the expanding mission envelope for UAV platforms, Insitu was present at DSEi to woo international customers, having already achieved some measure of success in Australia, Canada and Poland. The company has introduced a ScanEagle variant which incorporates a dual-bay to allow additional sensors to be fitted with the additional sensors sitting in a bay behind the EO-IR sensor bay. Insitu believes this will allow the company to to offer new mission capabilities to both existing and new customers as well as providing (improved) existing mission capabilities for existing and new customers. 

The dual-bay will allow the company to incorporate radar, communications, camera and EW capabilities. Insitu has implemented X-band AESA radar in this format where the radar can be used to cue the EO-IR sensor to provide additional classification opportunities for maritime surveillance and other homeland security/border applications. Field exercises of this capability have been implemented.

The dual-bay format also allows implementation of comms relay capabilities at UHF/VHF frequencies, connecting voice/data for troops that do not have LOS (line-of-sight); this could also be used for humanitarian/disaster relief scenarios where existing infrastructure may not be operational. Insitu is also looking at the potential for air-to-air communications.

Finally, the dual-bay capability also opens the possibility for other payloads to be implemented targeting electronic warfare. Insitu is considering the use of both passive and active payloads and is working with customers and partners to develop these capabilities.

Overall, DSEi offered an insight into how the next generation of radar, EW and comms systems will make use of technologies to enable wideband, net-centric operations while maintaining a focus on SWaP (size, weight and power). When DSEi returns to London in 2013, we should expect to see AESA technology established as the primary form of radar across all domains, and wideband, high power requirements from communications and EW driving continued demand for RF technologies.

Meet Strategy Analytics at EUROPEAN MICROWAVE WEEK 2011

We'll be there from Monday 10th - Wednesday 12th October

European Microwave Week is here again and this year Strategy Analytics has three days covered.

On Monday and Tuesday you have opportunities to meet with Asif Anwar* or Steve Entwistle** when the subject for discussion is entirely open for your choice ranging perhaps from questions of alternative strategies facing your company to the prospects for technologies and products emerging at this year's event. Arrange Meeting

On Wednesday you are invited to register for The 2011 Defence and Security Forum*** at which Asif Anwar will be presenting his paper "The Impact of Budget Constraints on Future Defense Technology Investment" during the 12:30 'Lunch & Learn" session.  Asif will ask you to consider his assertion that ... despite current global economics ...

"... the desire for technology differentiation will lead to continued opportunities in emerging electronic platforms supplemented by a focus on upgrading existing capabilities." 

We therefore invite you to click here to arrange meetings and/or register for The 2011 Defence and Security Forum.

*** Organised by Microwave Journal and the EuMA

* Asif Anwar is Director of Strategy Analytics' Advanced Defense Systems service

** Steve Entwistle is Vice President of Strategy Analytics' Strategic Technologies practice.

Steve Entwistle

The latest ADS report, "Defense Electronics Industry Review: July 2011" covers defense industry news in July 2011. The focus is on news related to defense systems/electronics and avionics emphasizing radar, communications & navigation, electronic warfare, weapon systems, sensors and others.

International activity provided the largest contract awards for July with Thales and Dassault involved in a deal worth about $1.42 billion as part of India's plans to upgrade its Mirage 2000 fighter aircraft fleet. Meanwhile the UK has signed a deal worth $1bn with the US Government for three RC-135W Rivet Joint signals intelligence aircraft for the Royal Air Force (RAF). The MoU establishes a cooperative agreement through to 2025 for the support of the UK Rivet Joint system while also partially bridging the gap in capabilities between the decommissioned Nimrod R1s and the introduction of the RAF's new aircraft.

The increasing pace of AESA-based capability deployment was also being demonstrating with Northrop Grumman's RQ-4B Block 40 Global Hawk completing its first full system flight with the high performance AN/ZPY-2, also referred to as the Multi-Platform Radar Technology Insertion Program (MP-RTIP) sensor. This will deliver long range, very high-resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR), ground moving target indicator (GMTI) capabilities and air target tracking. The flight took place at Edwards Air Force Base, CA, on July 21.

Sticking with phased array technology, M/A-COM Tech, announced that the Multifunction Phased Array Radar (MPAR) Panel has been named as one of R&D Magazines' 2011 R&D 100 Winners. Co-developed by M/A-COM Tech and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory under sponsorship from the Federal Aviation Administration, the MPAR Phased Array Panel aims to consolidate up to eight separate radar systems.

On the weapons systems front, Raytheon was awarded a contract modification for engineering and technical services in support of the MK15 Phalanx Close-In-Weapon System. The contract combines purchases for the United States government and the governments of Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and Taiwan under the Foreign Military Sales Program.

Harris continued to dominate contracting activity in the communications sector with several contract awards totaling over $76 million with the Falcon III AN/PRC-117G featuring prominently amongst the orders for Falcon II and Falcon III variants. Meanwhile NovelSat claims to have the solution to MilSatCom bandwidth constraints with its NS3 satellite transmission modulation technology that the company claims can improve satellite bandwidth by up to 78%.

On the EO-IR side, BAE Systems was awarded another task order to produce the Driver's Vision Enhancer Family of Systems (DVE-FOS), a system of infrared sensors that provide 24-hour all-weather visibility for operators of U.S. Army and Marine Corps vehicles, while Cassidian announced a contract to provide its missile launch detection system (MILDS) equipment for KAI Surion transport helicopters operated by the South Korean army.

Space was a focus for digital processing with both Microsemi and Xilinx were targeting space-based applications. Xilinx announced availability of its radiation-hardened-by-design space-grade Virtex-5QV FPGA, while Microsemi was claiming to be the first FPGA supplier to achieve AS9100 Rev C certification for aviation, space, and defense markets.

Finally, on the RF component front, Hittite unveiled several products that included aerospace and defense amongst the target applications. TriQuint also unveiled a high-linearity power amplifier designed using the firm's GaAs power pHEMT production process to operate at 10?12 GHz for X-band communication applications.

TriQuint also announced the appointment of a new VP for its Defense and Aerospace business. James Klein was most recently with Raytheon in the Space and Airborne Systems division and responsible for design and manufacturing of advanced RF and microwave subsystems and components. He'll be working with TriQuint's current VP and General Manager of Defense and Aerospace, Thomas Cordner during a transitionary phase before Mr. Cordner retires after a successful career. We wish Tom the best of luck in his future endeavours.

This blog is reproduced from Asif Anwar's regular 'Expert Insights' column for the Microwave Journal Military Defence Column.

Electronic Warfare uses the electromagnetic spectrum (EMS) in three roles across air, sea, and land warfare domains; Electronic Attack (EA), Electronic Protection (EP), and Electronic Warfare Support (ES).

• Electronic Attack (EA) involves the use of EM energy to attack enemy forces, facilities and equipment with the intent of degrading, neutralizing or destroying capabilities including communications, radar and EW.
• Electronic Protection (EP) is defined as the protection of friendly forces from inadvertent impacts of both friendly and enemy use of EMS.
• Electronic Warfare Support (ES) involves the active searching, interception and locating of EM energy, be it intentional or otherwise. This then supports immediate threat recognition as well as enabling the targeting, planning and conduct of operations.

Regardless of the roles and domains in which Electronic Warfare is employed, communications is a crucial foundation for the successful use of EW systems, and MilSatComs will play an increasingly important role in both traditional and asymmetric warfare scenarios.

Examples include the use MilSatComs to provide a beyond-line-of-sight linkage between ground forces requesting air EW strikes and airborne platforms circling elsewhere that need to be quickly dispatched to the combat location, backup against EW attacks on terrestrial ground communications, the incorporation of IED detection capabilities combined with MilSatComs as UAV platforms become relay nodes and the use of MilSatComs to allow joint coordination of MNF (multinational forces) units at the tactical level (air, sea, and ground), whether for EW or kinetic warfare.

Strategy Analytics sees the strategic importance of MilSatComs for EW operations increasing though there are several recommendations that will need to be successfully implemented over the next decade to ensure full efficacy. In particular, while countries such as the US are developing Electromagnetic Battlefield Management (EMBM) systems within a net-centric doctrine, Strategy Analytics believes there is a "perception deficit", with the electronic warfare domain not commanding the same cachet as cyberspace. This has the potential to hamstring successful implementation of combined MilSatCom EW strategy especially if this results in a failure to balance budgetary pressures with on-going technology development. The Strategy Analytics Advanced Defense Systems (ADS) service report, "The Strategic Impact of Milsatcoms on Electronic Warfare," provides an overview of both MilSatCom and EW technologies and platforms and discusses implementation strategies that will drive closer synergies in the future.