Space start-up develops key satellite tech to benefit NATO and US forces

Air February 2, 2022

Isotropic Systems has announced the successful completion of advanced multi-orbit antenna trials which will enable a new age of resilience for worldwide government communications increasingly reliant on satellite connectivity on the ground, at sea and in the air.

The tests were conducted with SES Government Solutions, the leading provider of government satcom solutions, at the US Army proving grounds in Aberdeen, Maryland, and successfully demonstrated a range of capabilities that will support military and government missions across the globe.

During the milestone multi-orbit trials, separate satellites in different orbits were simultaneously linked with a single Isotropic Systems multi-link antenna, demonstrating the terminal’s capabilities tailored to meet the rigorous conditions and challenging connectivity demands across the battlespace.

With this breakthrough from Isotropic Systems, US and NATO forces will for the first time be able to access every bit of satellite capacity across military and commercial satellites from a single antenna, which offers greatly enhanced defence and security capabilities:

Unmanned Aircraft or UAVs will be able to connect to the optimal satellites for a variety of surveillance and armed missions
Military pilots can link to optimal satellites for ground communications, while aircraft crew can connect to entirely separate satellites at the same time to access superfast broadband for real-time communications with warfighters and central command
A broad range of ships and vessels at sea will be able to communicate and connect with troops in the air and on the ground for a seamless mission campaign
Should a satellite be disrupted or denied during a conflict, U.S. and NATO forces on the ground will benefit for complete mission assurance with multiple connections to multiple satellites running at the time

As part of the Isotropic Systems multi-link antenna trials, the US Army demonstrated a simultaneous connection in operational conditions as part of the U.S. Air Force’s innovative Defense Experimentation Using Commercial Space Internet (DEUCSI) program. The terminal established two live simultaneous, full-performance connections with SES satellites in GEO and MEO, and seamless satellite-to-satellite transitions, providing a game-changing leap in wartime communications.

“Our terminal is the first and only U.S. Army tested antenna capable of multiple simultaneous satellite links, which provides the US military and NATO with the communications capabilities they need for today’s threat environment with disrupted satellites becoming more common,” said John Finney, founder and CEO of Isotropic Systems. “We have proven our optical multi-link antenna technology is fully capable of providing mission-critical, resilient space-based connectivity for the military and across a broad range of vertical markets – from government and enterprise to aero and maritime – as we remain on track for our commercial launch in 2022.”

“These back-to-back breakthrough antenna trials demonstrate how a new generation of terminals, led by Isotropic System’s optical multi-link platform, will unleash the full potential of existing and next-gen satellites for mission-critical government and defense missions anywhere,” said Pete Hoene, President and CEO of SES Government Solutions. “The timing of the commercial availability of this new antenna is ideal with the recent launch of our SES-17 GEO satellite and the launch of our new O3b mPOWER MEO system in 2022.”

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Isotropic Systems NATO US Army