The U.S. Air Force plans to test a new tactical waveform on modems and terminals in 2018 in a move to further the service’s protected communications system initiative, Space News reported Monday.Mike Gruss writes the Air Force is also set to request for industry proposals in January 2015 and award a contract to build the modems in the summer of 2015.
The service intends to integrate the modems into the terminals used with the Air Force’s wideband global SATCOM satellites, according to the report.
Boeing, Intelsat General, Raytheon and Space Systems/Loral hold research contracts for the project and the study phase has been completed, Space News reports.
Gruss writes the Air Force also wants to evaluate systems that would run on WGS, free-flyer satellites and commercial satellites to support the protected tactical waveform.
