US Army Extends Satcom Sustainment Deal With Gilat Subsidiary

Gilat Satellite Networks announced that its Wavestream subsidiary has secured a $20 million contract to extend its work on a U.S. Army program to sustain ubiquitous satellite connectivity.

The Army initiative aims to deliver a communications-on-the-pause solution worldwide using satellite transportable terminals integrated with Wavestream’s ruggedized solid state amplifier, Gilat said Monday.

Bob Huffman, general manager of Wavestream and a senior vice president at Gilat, said the 50W Ka band SSPA will continue meeting the service branch’s satellite communications requirements for warfighters in harsh environments. The company has provided thousands of block upconverters to the military over the years, he added.

In 2021, the Army awarded Wavestream a multimillion-dollar program sustainment contract to deliver more 50W Ka band BUCs. The service branch is using more than 5,000 such devices to facilitate “at-the-halt” voice, video and data connectivity.

The technology first saw use to support Increment 1 of the Warfighter Information Network-Tactical system, which is said to be the backbone of all Army soldier communications.