ENHANCING UAS SATCOM CAPABILITIES Next-generation network services for BLOS C4ISR missions with O3b mPOWER Insight Paper O3b mPOWER provides the means to deliver unparalleled capabilities to UAS airborne C4ISR applications, ensuring mission success. 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Since the successful launch of our O3b Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellite system and the introduction of commercial services in 2014, SES Networks has experienced growth and market penetration that are unprecedented in the industry. Our ability to deliver fibre-like of our global data services, and • Having the ability to increase or throughput and latency performance to O3b mPOWER will facilitate a rapid decrease throughput on demand remote and hard-to-reach locations has increase in capability for the markets while flying a mission, as well as a proven to be a game changer across we serve, to address cloud-computing unique higher return link capability all market segments, particularly in environments anywhere in the world. • Providing enough throughput the government and military sectors. O3b mPOWER takes our market-proven to accommodate all current and O3b MEO-based services are having MEO satellite technology, greatly foreseeable sensor payloads— a transformational impact on fixed extends its capabilities, and increases simultaneously, and with data in and mobile military communications its capacity by a factor of 10. To meet an uncompressed format operations, such as airborne Command, growing market demand, O3b mPOWER Control, Communications, Computer, scales the previous O3b model to • Having the ability to use Intelligence, Surveillance, and deliver a ubiquitous, low-latency ‘bent-pipe’ repeaters, ensuring Reconnaissance (C4ISR) missions. ‘virtual-fibre’ network while seamlessly all current and future modulation integrating into all other networking and encryption schemes can be Following the success of our first- infrastructure. transparently supported generation O3b MEO system, SES • Using a network that is has taken the initiative to invest To determine how O3b mPOWER will inherently resistant to interception in the design, development and enable and enhance military airborne and jamminge implementation of a second-generation C4ISR applications on Unmanned MEO system—O3b mPOWER. The Aerial Systems (UAS) platforms, • Having the ability to use customer- original O3b MEO constellation was consider what’s possible via virtual-fibre defined ground networks, giving the first step in the strategic evolution connectivity on a UAS: access to capabilities that are not permitted on public networks • Working at all longitudes, and latitudes to ±50° SES Networks | Insight Paper 3 THE CHALLENGES FOR BEYOND LINE OF SIGHT UAS COMMUNICATIONS Today, beyond line of sight (BLOS) UAS communications are primarily implemented using Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) satellite networks. The inherent characteristics of GEO satellite networks pose a number of challenges when used in airborne C4ISR applications. Payload complexity Data compression Capacity planning Current and next-generation UAS are To compensate for the throughput UAS missions are complex, time being equipped with more advanced limitations of current BLOS SATCOM sensitive and dynamic operations. and complex sensor payloads that systems, UAS sensor data and Mission success is often dependent generate ever-growing volumes of video feeds are often compressed. upon the ability of a BLOS SATCOM data. Yet, the transmission of sensor Depending on the compression solution to adapt to the dynamics of data and video feeds from aircraft to technique employed, information is a mission, to accommodate changes ground has proven challenging due sometimes lost. Lossy compression in sensor payload configuration, and to the limited throughput capabilities reduces the amount of information in resultant changes in connectivity of the BLOS satellite communication the data stream, adversely impacting throughput. Current BLOS SATCOM (SATCOM) systems currently the quality of the intelligence analysis, systems typically require planners available. This limitation reduces the and resultant intelligence products. to pre-set a throughput limit for a ability of a UAS to satisfy its mission mission, leaving operators unable to requirements. Mission planners dynamically allocate or de-allocate are often forced to make trade-off capacity as mission needs change. As a decisions regarding which sensors in result, planners either have to allocate the payload to use during a mission more capacity than is needed—and due to throughput limitations. These which may not be used during the trade-offs may include flying multiple mission—to accommodate unforeseen sorties to complete the mission, changes in mission requirements, or resulting in higher operating costs only allocate sufficient capacity to meet and extending the time required to planned mission requirements, with the achieve the full mission objectives. hope that no additional capacity will be required. The former approach to planning may have an economic impact, and the latter approach may constrain mission success. 4 Throughput and latency Security Actionable information provided The operational security (OPSEC) by a UAS mission is often time and communication security sensitive, and any action to be (COMSEC) measures taken to taken must be coordinated and mitigate interception and jamming executed across multiple echelons, of GEO SATCOM systems typically including operators, analysts, and impact throughput performance. command and control elements of the intelligence chain. The throughput and latency limitations of current BLOS SATCOM systems reduce the capability to coordinate the planning, decision making, and execution activities required to respond in a timely manner, thus hindering mission success. SES Networks | Insight Paper 5 THE O3b mPOWER SYSTEM As the world’s most powerful satellite-based telecommunications system, the O3b mPOWER system is a transformative step change in capability. A unique system built on advanced technologies, O3b into fewer, more capable beams as needed. mPOWER integrates with the existing SES GEO fleet and The satellites are equipped with phased array antennas, O3b MEO constellation, and is the highest-capacity and and carry advanced digital payloads. The fleet, designed most flexible system ever, with the broadest available and constructed by Boeing Satellite Systems International, coverage. The system is based on major innovations—a is designed to provide coverage between 50°N and new satellite constellation that builds on the proven 50°S—almost 80 percent of Earth’s surface. Each satellite success of our first-generation O3b MEO system, next- has a throughput 10 times greater than those in the first- generation Customer Edge Terminals (CETs), and generation constellation, delivering a system-wide terabit intelligent control and management software. capacity. This shift towards targeting individual endpoints in addition to areas containing multiple endpoints, together The first-generation O3b MEO constellation is interoperable with the availability of greatly increased data rates, with the upcoming O3b mPOWER constellation, and gives customers the freedom to create new classes of customers will be able to migrate seamlessly from the applications and services. Targeting individual endpoints previous system to O3b mPOWER as their capacity improves the efficiency and economics of the system. requirements increase, or their services and applications require the enhanced capabilities of the newer system. O3b mPOWER is scalable, and delivers near-real-time connectivity. The system can be dynamically reconfigured Each of the first-generation O3b MEO satellites provides in almost every aspect of its operations, unfettered by 12 fully steerable Ka-band beams (two for gateways and the performance constraints of previous systems. 10 for remote terminals), and has an aggregate capacity It can also connect and empower those parts of the world of 16 gigabits per second. The beams each illuminate an that are not well served by competitive systems. area of Earth’s surface measuring 700 kilometres across. It will scale up to become the first global, multi-terabit In comparison, each of the seven O3b mPOWER satellites satellite communications system, capable of delivering provides more than 5,000 beams, which can be combined ‘virtual fibre’ anywhere. 6 O3b mPOWER ADVANTAGES The O3b mPOWER system has a number of novel characteristics that make it especially suitable for UAS C4ISR mission connectivity. Adaptable forward/return ratios Independent subnetworks The forward/return ratio for previous generations of satellites O3b mPOWER can simultaneously support multiple, is largely fixed by the design of the satellite itself. The completely disparate networks. Federated networking flexibility of O3b mPOWER allows the forward/return ratio enables O3b mPOWER solutions to be tailored to the to be adapted to suit each customer and application— application, including terminal, network topologies, and even in near real-time, if needed. This addresses the protocol requirements. This capability is particularly potential supply/demand mismatch of conventional satellite relevant for government applications, which often have telecommunications systems by replacing fixed capacity with mission-driven requirements not normally addressed by an on-demand system. conventional commercial satellite systems. Tailored service packages with more granular Cloud, IoT and 5G ready coverage and