MilsatMagazine (MSM)
Mr. Tamir, given your exceptional and effective career with the Israeli Defense Forces, what do you see today as the most challenging environments to overcome for MILSATCOM? How do you see this changing over the next few years?
Moshe Tamir
Almost all military ground forces today still use World War II communications concepts based on voice over radio for command and control (C&C). Over the next decade, I estimate that all forces will move to network-based C&C. This will be a real revolution for operations in that it requires constant and reliable broadband communications for all echelons. The high maneuverability and dispersion of forces drives an essential need for on-the-move satellite backhaul for these nets. The real challenge for MilSatCom lies in large communications-on-the-move (COTM) nets based on VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal).
With your career with the IDF, how did you manage to effectively transition from the military world to that of the commercial services supplier? What was the most difficult area for you to manage?
Moshe Tamir
While these are different worlds, it is people and leadership that drive them both. One’s decision making capabilities do not change. In both elements, we make decisions often based on incomplete information and in the face of uncertainty. However, one major difference is the consequences and outcomes of our decisions in these disparate areas are very different.
MSM
Do you find that your military career has assisted you in your discussions within the commercial and government agencies to present your product case more effectively? If so, how?
Moshe Tamir
Certainly — my long experience as a user of this equipment, especially of net-based C&C systems has helped me quite a bit in presenting Gilat’s offerings more effectively. It is an advantage in having the practical experience as a user rather than just approaching a potential client as a systems supplier. My experience in the field enables me to understand the user’s challenges and present Gilat’s solutions as those in the field as well as those at the different echelons will use it.
MSM
How does Gilat, a company based in Israel, present its product lines to allied governments? What makes Gilat’s case so effective?
Gilat has two main advantages; cutting-edge technology and experience in large projects. Our leading MILSATCOM technologies, including BUCs, antennas and MODEMS, are all under one roof, and these mesh well with our system integration capabilities. Our deep connections to Israel’s defense community enable us to enjoy the knowledge and experience of those who are constantly on the front lines using the systems. In addition, we have an advantage of vast experience in large, complex, and turnkey government projects across the globe enable our team to bring this expertise to our defense offerings.
Our existing strong ‘Glocal’ presence enables us to work closely with system integrators, service providers and end customers to develop satellite-based solutions that solve problems and enable the use of new applications that were not feasible before.
MSM
The bottom line for any satellite communications role is to save lives and mission success. How does Gilat’s military and government product lines enable such to occur? Given your real-time experience in an extremely hostile region of the world, what is your personal commitment to “boots on the ground” when you advise others on product offerings and installation?
Moshe Tamir
Gilat’s defense and homeland security systems are focused on supplying reliable, quality broadband communications to the front line and to first responders. Command and control requires reliable communication systems that are essential for saving lives and contribute to the success of mission critical operations. In that sense, network based C&C enables us to make a major leap forward in meeting the requirements necessitated by on the move situations. We are fully committed to providing quality and reliable systems that enable those whose ‘boots are on the ground’ to successfully complete their missions safely and effectively.
MSM
What differing scenarios could be enhanced by Gilat’s product? How would an NGO agency, or a first responder, find Gilat’s products in actual use, as opposed to those in a military environment? Or, are the objectives and use similar to these cases?
Gilat provides solutions to fit our various clients. For instance, NGOs and first responders need different combinations of functions and technologies for their systems. Our proven turnkey solutions are tailor made to meet those requirements and are based on the user’s experience so that we explicitly know what they require for success. For instance, in China, we provided SATCOM on-the-move for a cellular base-station in rescue vehicles that were able to bring cellular coverage to disaster-struck areas. Using this vehicle, the first responders were able to restore cellular coverage to an affected area to thereby locate trapped people in collapsed buildings and save them in the golden hours of opportunity where this hope still exists.
MSM
What can we expect to see from Gilat over the coming months that would further the effectiveness of ground, air, and sea forces?
Moshe Tamir
This past year, we introduced more powerful on-the-move antennas for vehicles that enable even higher throughput for on-the-move communications. Gilat’s Wavestream recently introduced the AirstreamTM family of solid state transceivers for military and commercial airborne and unmanned satellite communication systems.
We are also developing a new compact airborne terminal that includes a small low-profile antenna, extremely efficient BUC (transmitter) and an embedded high performance modem. The very small terminal is based on a six-inch antenna that provides extremely high quality video. Because all the components are developed and manufactured by Gilat, we achieve a very high level of integration resulting in one product, simple interfaces, and one management system.
MSM
With your experience in the military and in the commercial sectors, where do you see MILSATCOM, in general, heading over the next few years, given extreme budget cuts by most countries due to their fiscal difficulties? Will we see more combination of technologies to produce leaner battle force groups?
Moshe Tamir
In a period of global economic uncertainty in which countries are reducing their military expenditures, budget cutting is forcing forces as well as suppliers to re-engineer their processes. To reduce costs, militaries and defense organizations are moving towards using Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) solutions customized to the military environment. At Gilat, we are doing this by adapting and modifying our commercial products for military applications and requirements. For example, U.S. forces in Iraq used our low-profile antennas for Satcom on the move. We believe that we are a leader in this area. Our long commercial experience puts us in a favorable position to be able to modify COTS and bring their advantages to the HLS/defense communications market.
MSM
Tell us something about Gilat’s products and solutions offerings? What is unique about it?
Gilat is focusing on tactical military Satcom solutions: Satcom on the move or on the pause. All components of the various solutions are designed accordingly. Compact, low profile on the move antennas, powerful BUCs and SSPAs with small SWAP (size, weight and power consumption) and highly sensitive modems supporting small antennas with new adaptive waveform to support changing link conditions. All products and solution are ruggedized according to all mil standards working in the harshest environment.
MSM
Tell us about the company’s defense/HLS strategy that has developed into acquiring Raysat and Wavestream?
Moshe Tamir
Gilat strategy is to strongly enter the defense market. The acquisition of Raysat Antenna Systems and Wavestream increased the portfolio of our defense products and enabled us to develop better and more efficient high-end terminals for the defense market. Developing products for the defense sector is time and labor-intensive and these two acquisitions enabled us to quickly get, out of the door, mature products and new customers in that target sector. We defined our objectives and the challenge of satcom on the move and used our knowledge of net centric communications to answer the markets needs.
MSM
Which Gilat products seem to hold the most interest for allied countries? Why?
Moshe Tamir
Our solutions create interest because of their combination of high performance, small footprint and attractive pricing. However, the most important element of our solution is interoperability. Gilat’s solutions work with all MIL specs products utilized by various defense forces that work together. As modern net-centric C&C is becoming more common and cooperation between nations and groups in allied maneuvers and engagements increases, interoperability between forces is necessary. Only solutions that meet these needs will be accepted, and Gilat is and will be there.
MSM
How does Gilat defense/HLS operate around the world? What types of agencies, governments, and defense organizations does Gilat target?
We target the satcom needs of HLS agencies around the world and our solutions serve a large and diverse audience. Gilat has numerous clients that cannot be identified due to the nature of their activities. We reach HLS agencies whose activities go from infrastructure to first responders to border patrol to law enforcement to disaster recovery and communications networks. For instance, we have recently contracted with Latin American internal security and law enforcement agencies in a large contract worth above $10 Million.