SDA to Test Transport Layer Link 16 Signal With US Partner Nation

The International Telecommunication Union has approved the Space Development Agency’s data transmission demonstration using Link 16 signals from the Tranche 0 Transport Layer satellites provided by York Space Systems.

Link 16 is an encrypted network used by military ground vehicles, ships and aircraft to exchange data. In an email, SDA Director Derek Tournear told Breaking Defense that the ITU allowed performing the test “over international water and over the territory of a Five Eyes ally.”

Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom are part of Five Eyes. Tournear did not reveal which of the four partner nations will be involved in the demonstration, Breaking Defense reported.

The Transport Layer is part of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture for military communications and missile tracking. According to the Department of Defense, the PWSA segment will serve as the foundation for its Joint All-Domain Command and Control warfighting concept. 

The SDA continues to advance the Transport Layer with the award of contracts for the first and second tranche of TL satellites. Tournear said the agency plans to procure Tranche 3 satellites with new capabilities for the PWSA segment and launch them by September 2028.