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KU-band
satellite terminal on off-road vehicle delivers wideband SATCOM
 General Dynamics C4 Systems
successfully demonstrated its Satcom-on-the-Move™ (SOTM™) terminal
at the US Army’s Signal Center at Fort Gordon, Georgia.
The SOTM™ unit, developed and
manufactured by General Dynamics’ VertexRSI brand, offers reliable
voice and data wideband satellite communications from
vehicle-mounted terminals via Ku-band. The full-motion SATCOM
terminal is ruggedized for use by military forces and can be mounted
on a wide variety of vehicles to provide use in demanding off-road
combat operational conditions while moving.
Brent Finemore, Director, Strategic
Initiatives and Business Development for General Dynamics C4
Systems, said, “Earlier versions of satellite communications systems
transmitting from moving tactical vehicles provided narrowband
capabilities. In contrast, the General Dynamics’
Satcom-On-The-Move™ terminal provides full-duplex, high data rate
communications including voice and full-motion video from ruggedized
wheeled and tracked vehicles while moving over obstacles and
‘off-road’ terrain. Our test demonstrated the first successful
wideband Ku-Band satellite communications directly from a moving
land-based vehicle.”
The General Dynamics’ SOTM™ used
the Intelsat 707 satellite, standard commercial Ku-Band frequencies,
and appropriate standard FDMA modems to communicate from the moving
vehicle to a fixed ground station. The General Dynamics’ SOTM™
terminal is the first such system to be licensed by the FCC for use
in the United States.
“General Dynamics has drawn a line
in the sand with the performance of our Satcom-on-the-Move™ system
at Ft Gordon,” Finemore said. “The senior leadership in the Army can
now see that the technology is ready.”
Finemore added, "The unique
capability that General Dynamics’ Satcom-On-The-Move™ terminal
offers is its robust, continuous operation while traveling over any
type of terrain. Since it operates at Ku-band, data rates in excess
of 1.54 Mbps (a full T1), 24 times that of current L-band terminals,
are achievable. This terminal will revolutionize communications in
combat operations as it provides a fully ruggedized
Satcom-On-The-Move™ capability that today’s warfighters require.”
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