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L3Harris, Inmarsat-led industry team demonstrates real-world JADC2 connectivity

18 Jul 2022

Military organizations the world over are recognizing the need for truly interoperable communications networks that connect not only their strategic commands to operators at the tactical edge, but also with their coalition allies as part of their missions around the globe.

Decision makers on the battlefield have increasing levels of multi-domain resources at their disposal as new capabilities come online, but they need real-time information and the ability to communicate with these various assets in order to direct the required effect from the appropriate platform at the most opportune time for mission success.

This necessitates agile networks with open architectures to facilitate seamless voice, data and video information sharing from disparate technologies, including those already within inventories as well as new capabilities that come online over time.

L3Harris Technologies, Inmarsat Government and industry partners demonstrated an unparalleled level of Satellite Communications (SATCOM) connectivity in support of representative Joint All-Domain Command-and-Control (JADC2) operations at this year’s Special Operations Forces Industry Conference (SOFIC) in Tampa, Florida.

“Our JADC2 demonstration at SOFIC further demonstrated the enabling capabilities we can provide the Special Operation Forces community today, and the Inmarsat connectivity with our DarkWing terminal was a critical element of the network architecture,” said Dana Mehnert, President, Communication Systems, L3Harris. “We look forward to furthering this partnership and continuing to deliver solutions to SOF operators that enable cognitive overmatch.”

Those in attendance, specifically the international community, expressed how impressive the demonstration was in showcasing the seamless integration of the various technologies to meet their needs in enabling critical operations, Mehnert added.

The industry team simulated a real-world remote network that delivered situational awareness information from a notional tactical-edge command-and-control node to a Joint Operations Center replicated at the L3Harris trade show booth. L3Harris leveraged mission-enabling systems from across its enterprise, including airborne Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) platforms and sensors, tactical radios using the L3Harris resilient WRAITH™ mesh waveform, integrated vision solutions, Transport Aggregate Gateway (TAG) and SATCOM terminal systems, among others, to provide a full picture of the distributed, multi-domain battlespace network to a proactive, informed decision-making chain.

Notably, the L3Harris DarkWing™ Ka-band Flat Panel Very Small Aperture Terminal provided 25x8 Mbps of throughput during the demonstration – an unparalleled performance for a terminal of comparable size, weight and power.

Steve Gizinski, President Inmarsat Government, said: “This demonstration showcases the value of Inmarsat’s theater-proven Global Xpress worldwide wideband service. Our service delivers reliable and secure connectivity from anywhere and at anytime — a critical capability that supports current and future operating environments. During this highly successful joint demo, Global Xpress fully delivered required connectivity. This demonstration at SOFIC is supportable worldwide, in real time at no notice or prior coordination.”

L3Harris plans to continue similar demonstrations of its full-force network integration capabilities directly to customers and during trade shows through the rest of the year.