BAE awarded £89M contract for TRINITY battlefield network

BAE Systems has been awarded an £89 million contract to design and manufacture a cutting-edge deployable tactical Wide Area Network (WAN) named 'TRINITY'.

The contract with the prominent defence and aerospace company will deliver secure and state-of-the-art battlefield internet connectivity to the UK armed forces.

Dubbed a Design and Systems Integration Delivery (DSID) contract, this five-year endeavour aligns with the Prime Minister's economic growth priorities by...

22 August 2023 | Networks

Babcock awarded £400M contract to operate military satellites

Babcock and its partners have been awarded a £400 million contract to operate the Skynet military satellite communications system.

Skynet is the UK’s satellite system that enables communications to be sent from anywhere in the world back to the UK and its allies.

Defence Procurement Minister Alex Chalk KC said:

“Space is increasingly important for maintaining battlefield advantage.

The UK’s next-generation military satellite communications...

15 February 2023 | Legislation & Government

Russian hackers disrupt NATO comms used for earthquake relief

Russian hacking group Killnet has claimed responsibility for disrupting communications between NATO and other organisations providing earthquake relief in Turkey and Syria.

The devastating earthquake has claimed at least 28,000 lives and efforts continue to pull victims from the rubble. Countries and NGOs worldwide dispatched resources to provide humanitarian aid, including aircraft with transport and airlift capabilities.

Strategic Airlift Capability (SAC) is a...

13 February 2023 | Networks

US Air Force hands SpaceX $1.9M for battle-tested Starlink services

The US Air Force has awarded SpaceX with a $1.9 million contract for its now battle-tested Starlink satellite broadband services.

As part of the contract, the US Air Force will use Starlink to support operations at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany. SpaceX will provide Starlink terminals and service access for both fixed sites and mobile users.

Starlink is currently designed for use at fixed sites. A new ‘Portability’ feature was launched earlier this year – for an...

17 August 2022 | Networks

UK Ministry of Defence picks Globalstar to safeguard RAF personnel

The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) will use Globalstar’s SPOT Gen4 satellite GPS messengers to safeguard Royal Air Force (RAF) Force Protection personnel during training.

Force Protection is the RAF’s ground fighting element that specialises in controlling the ground to ensure control of the air. Globally renowned, Force Protection operates both at home and overseas to ensure the safety of aircraft and personnel.

Due to the various situations in which they can be...

8 June 2022 | Rural Telecoms

Inmarsat helps the Australian Defence Force to become a satellite operator

The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is now using Inmarsat’s satellites for its operations following an AUS$221 million contract.

As a virtual satellite operator, the ADF is able to control its service use directly. Inmarsat says it has enabled the ADF to increase efficiency by 300 percent while reducing operating costs by 70 percent.

Brigadier Gregory Novak, Commander of the ADF’s Defence Strategic Communications Branch, said:

“Inmarsat has supported ADF...

29 March 2021 | Networks

UK’s National Cyber Force is unveiled after months of speculation

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has officially unveiled the National Cyber Force (NCF) after months of speculation about its existence.

On Thursday, PM Johnson pledged £24.1 billion for the military over the next four years to 

cement the UK’s position as the largest defence spender in Europe and the second-largest in NATO after the US.

“The international situation is more perilous and more intensely competitive than at any time since the Cold...

20 November 2020 | Legislation & Government

Starlink satellites can provide ‘far more robust’ navigation than GPS

Starlink's satellites can be updated to provide navigation which is more accurate and less prone to interference than GPS.

The findings have been published in a non-peer-reviewed paper on preprint repository arXiv by Todd Humphreys and Peter Iannucci at the Radionavigation Laboratory at The University of Texas.

Humphreys and Iannucci propose a new system that harnesses Starlink's rapidly-growing constellation of satellites to provide “far more robust”...

28 September 2020 | Operators