GSN Acquires TrustComm

The premier small-business provider of secure COMSATCOM solutions to the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), TrustComm Inc., has recently been acquired by Global Secure Networks Inc. (GSN), an American investor group, this according to TrustComm's announcement statement.

And though there will be changes, the TrustComm company name will be retained. Led by Bob Roe, TrustComm's CEO since March 2012, GSN's equity infusion is enabling TrustComm to expand its operations and continue its high level of professional service to U.S. government agencies.

TrustComm, from its secure teleport and network operations center (S-NOC) at Ellington Field Base in Houston, has successfully deployed a wide range of managed satellite networking solutions to many government agencies and commercial enterprises since 1999. And just recently, TrustComm opened its new corporate headquarters.


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USAF contracts Ball Aerospace for risk reduction service on Weather Satellite Follow-on program

Ball Aerospace and Technologies has been chosen by the U.S Air force to provide risk reduction services on its next-gen of microwave sounding and imaging instruments for the Weather Satellite Follow-on program.

Under the terms of agreement, Ball Aerospace will examine and present the best measures to achieve the requirements of DND for measuring soil moisture and ocean surface vector winds using a microwave instrument tailor fitted for small, low-cost launch vehicles. This effort shares a heritage with the Global Precipitation Monitoring Microwave Imager (GMI) instrument, a machine that was also built by Ball Aerospace and delivered to NASA for the Global Precipitation Measurement mission.

Aside from GMI and microwave instruments, Ball Aerospace is also known for building the satellite bus and Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS) instrument for the Suomi National Polar-orbiting satellite -- NOAA’s newest polar-orbiting satellite. Presently, the company is also working on the satellite bus and additional copy of OMPS for NOAA’s Joint Polar Satellite System.

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Pentagon will not procure new military satellite constellation order until 2025

U.S Army CIO G6 Space and Airborne Branch Senior Milsatcom Systems Analyst Edward Aymar predicted that Pentagon will not be acquiring additional satellite constellations order until 2025 and thought that the agency will continue to obtain new terminals and related technology instead.

During the Satellite 2013 conference, Aymar said at the military satcom panel that they have Wideband Global Satcom (WGS), Advanced-Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) and Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) that will most likely be on orbit until 2025 or even beyond that. He added, “We know we don’t have enough capacity, and our opportunities to really achieve advances and efficiencies will be whatever we can do with the satellite terminals on the ground and on our satellite control systems.”

Furthermore, the Department of Defense does not need to establish a new network each time it arrives in a new area of operations. Aymar noted, “This practice requires satellite communications because building up fiber-optics takes time. The Army does plan to field about 4,000 new WIN-T terminals for communications on the move. However, most of our current milsatcom fleets are designed to service fixed architectures.”

Lockheed Martin activates first GPS III satellite

Lockheed Martin -- a leading global aerospace, defense, security, and advanced technology company -- has successfully powered up the system module of the U.S Air Force’s next-generation Global Positioning System 3 satellites. This new development indicates that the company is on schedule to send the first satellite into orbit in 2014.

The successful turning on of the GPS III SV-1 shows the satellite’s mechanical integration, validating its interfaces and paves the way for electrical and integrated hardware-software testing. The next-generation GPS satellite will complete its Assembly, Integration and Test (AI&T) in Lockheed’s new GPS Processing Facility (GPF) specifically built for efficient and affordable satellite production.

The U.S Air Force GPS III program will affordably take over the old GPS satellites, at the same time enhancing the capability to meet the increasing demands of civilian, commercial and military users. GPS III satellites are expected to provide improved accuracy and greater anti-jamming power, all while enhancing the satellite’s design life and adding a new civil signal made to be interoperable with international global navigation satellite systems.

Lockheed Martin is under the contract of the U.S Air Force to build the first four and advanced procurement funding of long-lead components for the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth GPS III satellites. Reports said that the Air Force plans on buying up to 32 GPS III satellites.

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ViaSat wins follow-on contract from U.S Marine Corps Systems Command

ViaSat has been awarded with a follow on contract from the United States Marine Corps Systems Command to carry on engineering advanced information security for commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) mobile devices.

Under the follow-on contract, which is worth $1.65 million, ViaSat will develop a prototype trusted smartphone, followed by a production-ready version. The project is expected to be finished by spring of this year, with the new secure mobile system available on all Android devices this summer.

With this new development, it will enable users to securely communicate over 3G/4G/LTE cellular and Wi-Fi networks using regular smartphones and tablets. Moreover, it will allow users to safely store any sensitive data and at the same time, protect their devices against malware attacks.

At the moment, ViaSat is working on providing a secure mobile enterprise system that allows COTS devices to seamlessly connect into various carrier networks. While this is specifically designed for tactical warfighters, the system of ViaSat is designed to provide secure communication of sensitive information for any government or commercial customer.

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U.S Army purchases AN/PRC-155 Manpack radios upgrade from General Dynamics

The United States Army ordered new kits from General Dynamics worth $5 million to upgrade 100 Handheld, Manpack, Small Form Fit (HMS) AN/PRC-155 two-channel Manpack radios. These devices allow them to communicate with the Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) satellite communications system of the Army. The upgrade comprises of a field-replaceable power amplifier and supporting software, which will enable a secure voice and data communication with the MUOS system. The kits are said to be delivered in the fall of this year.

The two-channel PRC-155 manpack radios, which runs the essential waveforms from the defense department library, will enable U.S soldiers to access the MUOS system wherever they are deployed -- either land, sea or air. The waveforms include the Soldier Radio Waveform (SRW) that connects dismounted soldiers to the network, the Wideband Networking Waveform (WNW) that transports huge amounts of data, and the legacy SINCGARS waveform used for communication with existing radios.

With the help of PRC-155’s two-channel capability, soldiers who are operating under any of these waveforms can interconnect with soldiers using another waveform on the second channel. A network of soldiers have the ability to be interconnected with others in a far, remote location, thanks to the MUOS capability in the PRC-155.

In a statement, General Dynamics C4 Systems President Chris Marzilli said, “By upgrading fielded PRC-155 radios, the Army will greatly enhance soldier effectiveness by providing a tenfold increase in SATCOM capacity for secure, over-the-horizon military communications. MUOS access on the two-channel PRC-155 will also allow current Army networks to be bridged and extended far beyond their current reach.

Lockheed Martin awarded $100 contract by Air Force to support GPS ground control segment

World-leading company Lockheed Martin Information Systems & Global-Solutions recently received a contract from the U.S Air Force Space Command and Missile Center worth $100 to support and sustain the ground control segment for the Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite constellation.

The contract, which runs from January 2013 through June 2019, appoints Lockheed Martin to provide organizational and depot sustainment support for the GPS ground segment. This will allow Air Force Space Command 2nd Space Operations Squadron, based in Colorado, to perform on-orbit operational control of the GPS satellite constellation. This includes support for command and control ground systems, systems engineering, hardware and communications engineering, among others.

To accomplish the tasks, Lockheed needs the participation of Arctic Slope Research Corporation (ASRC), ISYS Technologies, Overlook Systems Technologies, Ogden Air Logistics Center and Tigua Technology Services. Demands for near 100% system availability, as well as the fiscal constraints being placed on the GPS program are essential factors in sustaining the GPS control station.

Aside from the U.S Air Force, Lockheed Martin was also contracted by the U.S Army for $755 million to provide hardware services associated with the combat-proven PATRIOT Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) Missile Segment program.

This contract includes fiscal year 2013 missile and command launch system production for the Army, as well as a follow-on sale of the PAC-3 Missile to Taiwan. The Asian country is said to be the fifth international client for the PAC-3 Missile.

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