The Defense Department’s next-generation Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) and Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AHEF) communications satellites will expand businesses involved in satellite-based communications, according to a CEO.
“Anybody in any kind of system that puts up capacity in the sky that will effectively use satellite technology expands our business by definition and WGS and AEHF are no exception,” Gilat Satellite Networks [GILT] chief Erez Antebi said yesterday as part of the Satellite 2013 conference in Washington. Satellite 2013 is produced by Defense Daily parent company Access Intelligence LLC.
AEHF satellites provide secure, survivable and protected communications capabilities for warfighters operating on ground, sea and air platforms. WGS is DoD’s highest capacity communications satellite, providing service in both the X and Ka frequency bands. AEHF has capability ranging from 75 bits per second (bps) to approximately eight megabits per second (Mbps) while WGS has a capacity of 2.1 gigabits per second (Gbps) capacity.
“I think they will drive an enormous amount of mobile activity, mobile broadband by using these satellites,” Antebi said. “I think they will both drive our business as Gilat as a technology provider and show the rest of the industry how to use mobile technology.”
Antebi sees excellent business possibilities for Gilat, which develops high performance satellite ground segment equipment, Very Small Aperture Terminals (VSAT) and satellite on the move (SOTM) solutions like low profile antennas, next-generation solid-state power amplifiers and modems.
“I think the more satellite capacity that is out there, it’s going to drive more use for ground segment,” Antebi said.
Antebi said in addition to ground technology, Gilat provides technology to defense uses in areas such as ground mobility and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).
The Air Force is scheduled to launch its fifth and sixth WGS satellites (WGS-5, WGS-6) this year. The service is also scheduled to launch its second AEHF satellite (AEHF-2) this year (Defense Daily; Nov. 28, March 18). AEHF is developed by Lockheed Martin [LMT] while Boeing [BA] develops WGS.
Raytheon [RTN] provides ground terminals for DoD’s legacy Milstar communications satellite constellation. Both Raytheon and Boeing are competing for the Family of Beyond Line-of-Sight Terminals (FAB-T) contract that would provide ground terminals for the AEHF constellation.