Northrop works on cheaper SATCOM

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REDONDO BEACH, Calif., Nov. 9 (UPI) -- Northrop Grumman is working with the U.S. Air Force's Space and Missile Systems Center to develop more affordable military satellite communications.

The work comes under three firm fixed-price contracts under the Protected Military Satellite Communication Design for Affordability Risk Reduction initiative.

Each award is for a period of 10 months, Northrop reported, but no monetary values were given.

"Only today's protected satellite communications ensure connectivity that's highly resistant to interference and detection in a growing threat environment that includes many different types of physical, electronic and cyber threats," said Stuart Linsky, vice president, communication systems, Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems.

"By leveraging the government's investment in these protected communication technologies, tomorrow's tactical, protected satellite communications will be able to provide these capabilities at no more cost than unprotected military satellite communications. This will revolutionize our national networks, connecting platforms to warfighters and decision makers during diplomacy through enforcement."

Northrop said that under the awards it will develop an unclassified, government-owned waveform specification and demonstrate its feasibility; design and demonstrate a space/ground modem at the component level; and demonstrate gateway affordability by using commercial-off-the-shelf components combined with software emulation.