MELBOURNE, Fla., Jan. 22 (UPI) -- A U.S. company has succeeded in completing a point-to-point satellite phone call under conditions simulating a ship under way in the middle of the ocean.
A news release from Harris Corporation in Florida announced the technical triumph made possible by a prototype satellite terminal that could be used by Navy surface ships and even submarines to access U.S. voice and data communications networks.
"This milestone achievement clearly demonstrates our prototype terminal's ability to be recognized by and communicate effectively with Milstar satellites while in full platform motion," said Harris Vice President Sheldon Fox.
Fox said the point-to-point call was carried out by an Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) Navy Multiband Terminal prototype that will be considered by the Pentagon as part of a Navy contract to be awarded later this year that could accrue a value of more than $1 billion by 2015.
"Success in the prototype phase, coupled with Harris' legacy as the provider of the Navy's current generation of multiband, super-high-frequency wideband terminals, uniquely qualifies us as a leading Navy Multiband Terminal supplier," Fox declared.
Harris said the milestone test in Florida used an SCA 2.2.1-compliant programmable modem to acquire and track low- and medium-date rate waveforms of the U.S. military information grid. The logon utilized a KGV-136 cryptographic unit.
