The Air Force has successfully demonstrated over-the-air, low-data-rate communication between an orbiting Milstar satellite and the Family of Advanced Beyond line-of-sight Terminal (FAB-T), the service announced recently.
The Jan. 26 demonstration included a series of uplink and downlink communication tests that involved passing voice and data communication between a third-generation (Block 8) FAB-T unit and the legacy Milstar satellite, according to an Air Force press release. The FAB-T unit used its low-data-rate software to transmit through its newly developed large aircraft antenna.
“This successful FAB-T test demonstrates the continuous progress made by the dedicated team that is building this critical Nuclear Command and Control Network Communications System,” said Dave Madden, MILSATCOM systems director at the Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles AFB. “This over-the-air test demonstrated for the first time that the more advanced Block 8 terminal can communicate with the Milstar satellite, and serve as a network node with two legacy Milstar terminals.”
The Block 8 FAB-T terminal offers high-data-rate communications with Advanced Extremely High FrequencyEHF) satellites, but also provides backward capability with legacy Milstar satellites using low-data-rate communications.
“These tests validated system interoperability by demonstrating both voice and data communication,” Madden said. “They follow successful risk-reduction flight testing, as well as an intersegment test of the terminal communicating with the AEHF satellite payload on the ground.”
Prime contractor Boeing [BA] and its industry team will conduct a series of terminal integration, software testing and flight testing activities before building this survivable, secure command-and-control system, according to the Air Force. Boeing is developing both low-data-rate and high-data-rate terminals and software as part of the overall system. Successful testing of an earlier version of the low-data-rate terminal software assessed signal acquisition and data downlink and was completed in September 2007.
The Boeing System Integration and Testing Lab in Huntington Beach includes 12 FAB-T systems with connections to three antennas, allowing simultaneous over-the-air operation. This facility will support in-depth FAB-T system integration tests in 2011.
“We’re on track to complete hardware and qualification testing later this year,” said John Lunardi, Boeing vice president and FAB-T program manager. “We have more than 80 percent of the hardware qualification testing and nearly 65 percent of the software qualification testing completed.”
The FAB-T products include software-defined radios capable of protected communication, antennas and associated user interface hardware and software that will provide the government with a survivable and powerful system. The program is scheduled to enter flight testing in the first quarter of 2013 and exercise low-rate initial production option in fiscal year 2013.
FAB-T is managed by the MILSATCOM Systems Directorate at Los Angeles AFB.