24 May 2021

SOCOM seeks low-SWaP ESA for improved satcom capability

by Andrew White

The US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) is pursuing a requirement to field electronically steerable arrays (ESAs) at reduced size, weight, and power (SWaP) and cost to support connectivity requirements around the world.

Speaking at the virtual Special Operations Forces Industry Conference (SOFIC) on 19 May, US Army Colonel Joel Babbitt said how ESAs will facilitate satellite communications (satcom) by connecting ground users to satellite constellations in low (LEO), medium (MEO), and geostationary (GEO) Earth orbits.

A US Air Force Special Operations weather technician sends intelligence to the National Reconnaissance Operations Center during the Marine’s Reconnaissance Team Leader Course’s final exercise on 31 Oct 2017. (US Department of Defense)

“We’re interested in low-cost, low-SWaP electronically steerable antennas, specifically for satellite terminals operating in a number of [commercial and military] frequency spectrum bands including Ka and Ku,” said Col Babbitt, who serves as SOF Warrior program executive officer.

”We’re looking for terminals able to connect to LEO, GEO, as well as MEO satellites that are out there. There’s a number of capabilities that we’re looking to leverage. And we’d like to go after all three of those,” he added.

SOF Warrior is on the lookout for low-profile, manpack variants and vehicle-mounted applications measuring no more than the size of a laptop. ESAs must be able to automatically track satellites while on the move, irrespective of whether carried on the back of a dismounted soldier patrolling through a village or integrated onto a tactical ground vehicle moving across a desert.

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