Boeing engineers recently
demonstrated a new, autonomous technology that can
prevent jamming attempts on U.S. Department of Defense satellite
communications (SATCOM).
The test was conducted on the U.S. Space
Force’s Protected Tactical SATCOM Prototype (PTS-P), showing how
this technology can provide secure communication in contested
environments. PTS-P will provide space-based processing of the Protected
Tactical Waveform (PTW), the U.S. military’s jam-resistant
waveform.
Boeing’s solution uses software-defined beam-shaping to geolocate and actively suppress jamming in real-time, with
thousands of data points gathered every second.
“Maintaining communication with our deployed
forces during hostility gives us a tactical edge on the
battlefield,” said Justin Bruner, PTS-P Program Manager at the
U.S. Space Force. “Our adversaries are always attempting to deny
our ability to communicate. On-board, autonomous, real-time
nulling of jammers greatly enhances our resiliency, ensuring the
United States and our allies can provide our warfighters with
secure, reliable communications in a contested environment. Boeing
has made significant strides in the development and execution of a
nulling algorithm with flight-like firmware, demonstrating agile
anti-jam capability. PTS-P and all of our Protected Anti-Jam
Tactical SATCOM (PATS) programs are critical to this effort.”
The
hardware-software integration demonstration featured a number of
simulations where an adversary attempted to block a user’s
communication, including situations with numerous simultaneous
jamming attempts.
In every simulation, the Boeing-built prototype
autonomously mitigated highly-dynamic jamming attempts and
preserved connectivity, including situations where the user was in
close proximity to the interference source.
The U.S. Space
Force has dubbed PTS-P a “pacesetter program” to signify the rapid
prototyping approach and quick delivery timeline under the Space
Enterprise Consortium’s (SpEC) OTA contracting mechanism.
Additional PTS-P hardware and software demonstrations are planned
in the coming months, with host vehicle integration set to begin
early next year.
“The Space Force understands these rapid
prototyping programs are needed to maintain technical and space
superiority,” said Troy Dawson, vice president, Government
Satellite Solutions at Boeing Defense, Space & Security.
“We are innovating to meet the needs of the evolving threat. This
requires us to try things that we’ve never tried before, moving
quickly, failing quickly, and ultimately fielding
first-of-its-kind technology that is ready for the rigors of the
battlefield. Our efforts on PTS-P are setting the pace, and
blazing a trail that I anticipate many more national security
programs will follow.”
The
team has completed several hardware and software demonstrations,
and is working towards a 2024 launch and ensuing on-orbit demonstrations.
The solution is scalable
and hostable on both commercial or government space vehicles.
