Portable Secure RF Terminal Developed for Military

This post is also available in: עברית (Hebrew)

Wireless connectivity that civilians often take for granted, is not as simple to obtain in the military, where preventing the enemy from intercepting messages is key. For this, the United States military has expressed its need for multiband secure RF communications for its military applications. 

Viasat has been awarded a $28.4 million, five-year contract by the United States military to develop Small Tactical Terminal (STT).

The Small Tactical Terminal was originally developed by Viasat along with Harris Corp (now known as L3Harris). The terminal was developed to merge air and ground situational awareness at the tactical level for military forces.

The STT comes small, lightweight, and rugged enough for use out in the field. It allows for encrypted mobile network connectivity to combat soldiers, ground vehicles, boats, ships, UAVs, and helicopters. The STT allows for troops on the ground, air, and sea communicate in a secure manner, therefore increasing situational awareness and decreasing the chances of friendly fire.

Militaryaerospace.com mentions that the United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM) utilizes the STT to connect different units and keep them synchronized between themselves. SOCOM also uses the STT as an aircraft radio that connects fielded ground forces and field control rooms with friendly aircraft.

The Small Tactical Terminal offers mission critical connectivity to soldiers and at the same time it increases their collective perception of the battlefield.