Knight Sky, LLC has partnered with Kratos Defense and Security Solutions, Inc. and have successfully demonstrated an integrated SATCOM capability that delivered rapid detection and recovery from an electromagnetic interference (EMI) event on a live SATCOM link.
The demonstration used the Orchestration and Terminal Manager elements of the (SATCOM) Enterprise Management and Control (EM&C) platform developed by Knight Sky for the US Space Force through the SPEC OTA. EM&C is an effort by the US Space Force Space and Missile Command (SMC) to plan, initiate, monitor and restore rapid, automated access to hybrid satellite constellations and networks, operated by various service providers.
The demonstration was performed as part of a joint, multi-national Combined Joint All Domain Command and Control (JADC2) exercise hosted by U.S. European Command (EUCOM). EM&C capabilities provided by Knight Sky included real-time data link and equipment status reporting from the EM&C Terminal Managers to the EM&C Orchestration capability.
Knight Sky’s Orchestrator then interfaced with real-time spectrum monitoring and geolocation capabilities provided by Kratos Defense. The combined data stream was delivered by Kratos into the Unified Data Library (UDL) to populate a Situational Awareness visualization system in an operationally secure environment.
The UDL is a U.S. government owned, cloud-enabled database accessible by the DoD and coalition partners. Rapid recovery from the EMI event was accomplished by initiating network roaming using the Terminal Managers at the SATCOM terminals. Accordingly, Knight Sky and Kratos demonstrated acquisition and aggregation of real-time SATCOM end-to-end connectivity status, including spectral data, link and equipment status and detecting/geolocating electromagnetic interference (EMI), and fusion of this information through the UDL.
The event also demonstrated control capabilities to restore satellite service rapidly to overcome the interference. The demonstration showed that EM&C capabilities provide SATCOM links with the resiliency and flexibility to operate through contested and congested environments in times of conflict.
EM&C is an important strategic goal of the military to effectively operate an integrated SATCOM enterprise by increasing assured SATCOM access for the warfighter with legacy and next-generation terminals. It improves the effectiveness of the DoD’s critical SATCOM infrastructure by enhancing resilience and giving more satellite link choices, reducing resource allocation times and improving bandwidth efficiency. EM&C enables every terminal to be a sensor, contributing to Situational Awareness and facilitating rapid response to operational challenges and attacks. The effort was funded through the Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS) indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ), of which Kratos is a prime award recipient.
Lt. Col. Gary Thompson said, “The agile terminal was a quick and low-cost mod to a legacy terminal and orchestrator provided theater and mission awareness and integration at the tactical edge. Advancing these concepts is a giant leap towards achieving the CSO SATCOM Vision.”