Multi-domain, mesh networking opportunities seen with new satcom terminal

Mobile satellite and telecommunications company Kymeta is seeking to make inroads toward solutions for the US armed forces’ multi-domain, mesh networking requirements via its new u8 satellite communications (satcom), senior company officials told Janes.

The u8 flat panel satcom terminal is the newest evolution of the company’s initial satcom terminal variant, whose initial focus was for use by law enforcement agencies and first responders. That said, that first-generation satcom terminal “has already been in the hands of the US military, and we have been getting a lot of feedback … from the 18 year-old kid using it at the point of use, to the purchasing guys and through the entire [acquisition] process, and as that feedback came in we fed that into the design of the u8”, Kymeta Corp Vice-President for Product Management Lilac Mueller said.

The u8 system is being made available as a full-up satcom terminal system and supporting software applications, but can also be procured as a solo satcom-capable vehicle-mounted antenna and as a “turnkey terminal” outfitted with an embedded satellite and cellular modem with software-defined, wide-area network (SD-WAN) software. Company developers are also weighing a more expeditionary variant of the u8, dubbed the u8 GO. A man-portable version of the standard u8, the system can also be vehicle mounted “to support operations on the pause and on the move”, according to a company statement.