For military forces in the field, establishing a long-distance communications link has never been simple. It has typically involved a technician with a portable terminal setting up a small satellite dish, and then pointing the dish at exactly the right spot in the sky to connect to a geosynchronous satellite (GEO). Only after obtaining a good signal could the team communicate with anyone outside the range of their portable radios.

However, that is about to change — dramatically.

Advances in ground antenna technology have led to satellite antennas that are small and flat, rather than dish shaped. At the same time, a new generation of satellites operating close to Earth can send signals capable of being picked up with a flat antenna configuration, technically called an electronically steerable antenna (ESA).

These new, Low Earth Orbit (LEO) constellations can deliver connectivity with lower latency than a traditional GEO satellite. The antenna does not have to be pointed in any specific direction. As long as the antenna has a clear view to the sky, it will connect to the LEO constellation.

One of the new LEO constellations is operated by OneWeb.  Hughes was an early investor in OneWeb and, now, as a OneWeb distributor and partner of choice, can deploy LEO connectivity as part of a military network or enterprise solution.

With more than 600 satellites in orbit, OneWeb can deliver a signal virtually anywhere, with enough throughput to allow military and other users to send and receive not only data and audio, but also full-motion video transmissions using a flat, portable antenna.

What sets these apart from ground systems that use a traditional satellite dish is their mobility, ease of setup and reliability. An ESA can be mounted on a vehicle and used while in motion, unlike a dish antenna that must stay in one spot and be pointed exactly at the satellite to maintain the connection.

While GEO satellites stay in a fixed spot relative to the Earth, LEO satellites pass rapidly overhead. The ESA is designed to use the nearest LEO satellite, and then shift to the next satellite when the first one orbits out of view. Satellites in the constellation pass users seamlessly from one satellite to another, so there is no loss of connection or noticeable disruption to the user.

One feature of the OneWeb network is that it can prioritize users and offer service levels in line with the requirements of the Department of Defense (DoD). In the event of signal jamming on one satellite, OneWeb can move lower priority users to make room on other satellites for high-priority customers, such as the DoD.

Hughes engineers are finalizing the designs for aero versions of the single-panel ESA that can be used on small aircraft, both manned and unmanned. These should be available in the second half of 2024. These antennas will be similar in size and power to the planned, single-panel ESAs soon to be available for mobile ground units, but will be designed to fit the curved body of an aircraft with little negative impact on aerodynamics.

Hughes and other companies have done a lot off research into how a single, flat-panel ESA could be designed so that it could switch back and forth between LEO and GEO constellations — that has presented several challenges.

The primary issue is that GEO satellites are so far from Earth, more than 22,000 miles, and require large dishes to pick up the signal. From the ground, the ESAs are too small to generate the power needed to send a signal back to a GEO spacecraft.

Another issue is that there may not be much customer demand for a single antenna that could connect to satellites in both orbits. Simply using two different antennas may be the most practical way to obtain both types of connectivity.

Today’s warfighters need to be able to carry out missions in any environment. In highly contested domains, fast and reliable internet connectivity is essential to receiving and transmitting valuable intel in real time.

As government and defense agencies explore the power and potential of LEO services, ESAs will be key in enabling this game-changing connectivity for warfighters across the globe.
www.hughes.com/resources/hughes-defense-capabilities

Rick Lober, vice president and general manager of the Defense and Government Systems Division (DGSD) at Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES), leads the company in serving U.S. Federal, state and allied defense and intelligence organizations worldwide with advanced SATCOM solutions, commercial and Department of Defense (DoD) purpose-built systems, network management and software defined networking, ground and airborne communications on the move, 5G terrestrial and all company classified programs.