Australia has selected Northrop Grumman to provide systems that will expand Australia’s satellites communication coverage.
The ADF’s Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group awarded the $AUD 223 million contract to Northrop Grumman Australia last month.
According to the company:
“Joint Project 2008 is a large multiphase project to deploy an integrated wideband satellite communications (SATCOM) system for the ADF. Under Phase 5B2 of the program, Northrop Grumman and its partners ViaSat Inc. and Optus will deliver a satellite ground station at Wagga Wagga in New South Wales and a wideband SATCOM network management system that supports home station and deployed forces.
The ground station and network management system will be integrated into the WGS constellation of highly capable, secure military communications satellites.
Northrop Grumman will provide a network management capability aligned with and functionally similar to the one developed for the United States that successfully manages and monitors the WGS system. It will be complemented by the proven performance of the ViaSat dual-band satellite terminal and the Australian operating experience of Optus.
The WGS constellation is a vital military asset providing Australia, the United States, Canada, Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and New Zealand with reliable and secure communications services worldwide 24-hours a day, seven days a week.”
Australia joined the Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) system programme in 2007, providing funds to expand the constellation in return for a worldwide share of WGS bandwidth.
