Jasmin Alsaied
Is your navy tired of low connectivity speeds out at sea? Low quality video streams during your teleconference? Spotty feeds from the helicopter? The solution to these problems and more may be just around the corner. With Space-Based Adaptive Communications Node (Space-BACN), you and your Navy may be poised to speed up connectivity for deployed and remote naval units in the future. The Space-BACN project will enhance communications across networks, weapons systems, and other platforms by establishing dedicated Constellations of satellites in low-earth orbit (LEO). The aim for this system is to improve defense networks, a notable weak link in over-the-horizon mission planning and targeting functions. These capabilities provided by Space-BACN could create solid foundations for the Department of Defense’s (DOD) future warfighting missions that require robust communications systems.
Space-BACN is a project to build an “internet” of satellites that improves interoperability between military, government, and commercial satellites. It encompasses three technical phases and is notably focused on developing low weight, low power, and cost effective solutions that can work in a cross-constellation intersatellite link. Once integrated, Space-BACN will be able to connect a network of previously unassociated constellations, further enabling interoperability. Space-BACN may even help the military work around spectrum sharing limitations to make efficient use of the limited radio spectrum available. Instead of assigning specific frequency bands to a single service or technology, which can lead to inefficiencies and underutilization, spectrum sharing allows multiple users to access and share the same frequency bands simultaneously. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is working with several vendors like Intel, SpaceX, ViaSat, Arizona State University, and others to tackle this challenge by employing efficient optical apertures to integrate across constellations. These tools would provide Leo Constellations a secure framework to transmit data from remote sensors, at-sea platforms, and aerial vehicles and deliver fast and accurate information to national security leaders.
Space-BACN is arriving on the scene at an opportune time because the appetite for LEO constellations within the defense department is growing. Satellites in LEO constellations reside at low altitudes to reduce latency, which is the time it takes to transmit data between Earth and the satellite(s) or vice versa. LEO constellations currently provide satellite phone connection, narrowband data transmission, and a large majority of super high frequency communications to the U.S. military. They also provide high-speed internet to scientists, military servicemembers, and US citizens stationed in remote environments like Thule Air Base in northwestern Greenland. Thus, low latency network solutions that provide secure communications for mission planning and targeting seem to be at the top of the military’s wish list.
For the Navy, LEO constellations can act as a medium to conduct multi-domain communications to ease the transfer of data and information in contested environments or remote terrains. But as warfighters continually press systems for faster, more accurate data, defense contractors will need to ensure the transmission of this sensitive data is secure and reliable. Commercial satellite providers typically do not use robust security techniques to protect against disruption or exploitation. Thus, Space-BACN is needed to mitigate the potential of adversarial breach during uplink or downlink from Earth. Satellite service providers will also need to go further and mitigate against unintentional threats to satellite systems such as solar activity, radiation, and other environmental anomalies that could disrupt vital military missions or communications enabled by Space-BACN.
On top of security concerns, the DOD will need to think through how it secures bandwidth for its communications. In the past, the military purchased bandwidth from commercial satellites on a megahertz per month basis, which allows them to procure a specific frequency range for a defined period. This model, however, becomes less feasible when looking at 5G communications, which require larger allocations of bandwidth, or more robust technologies, which may require several different allocations on the spectrum. Although emerging technologies enable spectrum sharing between commercial and military applications, limitations still exist. Stakeholders still need to figure out how to improve the allocation and shared use of spectrum allocation to efficiently operate with space-based assets. Questions remain on interoperability, the potential impact on operations of spectrum sharing, and if the DOD can effectively leverage its bandwidth allocation to support multi-domain operations. Addressing these issues is paramount before the Navy can fully turn to LEO constellations to meet its critical mission demands.
Since the concept of LEO constellations is relatively common to the commercial realm and other US military branches like the Air Force, the Navy should closely monitor the potential of this capability. In time, carrier strike groups will need faster and more reliable connectivity as mission sets get inevitably more digital. Progression on Space-BACN will support DOD’s mission to further innovate and modernize as great power competition takes a leading role on our nation’s national security agenda. Space-BACN, coupled with LEO constellations, can improve network connectivity for remote naval units and provide the interconnectivity needed for the future of military conflict.
to remain on the cutting edge and in the vanguard of the coming decades of competition.
Jasmin Alsaied is a Young Professionals in Foreign Policy Rising Expert on National Security. She is a United States Navy Surface Warfare Officer currently pursuing her masters in Foreign Service at Georgetown University. Her research focuses on maritime domain awareness, emerging technology integration challenges, and nuclear counterproliferation in the Indo-Pacific. She is a graduate of NC State University (BS Nuclear Engineering, ’17) and is currently a non-resident fellow at the Middle East Institute and Key Terrain Cyber.
The views expressed in this paper are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of Defense, the Department of the Navy, or the U.S. Government
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