Pentagon to launch new study focused on non-terrestrial networks and protocols
The Defense Department is about to conduct a new study to look at non-terrestrial networks and related issues, according to a senior official.
The review will launch as the Pentagon is moving to modernize its communications and data transport capabilities and implement warfighting concepts like Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control.
“We’re kicking off a study soon on non-terrestrial networking protocol. And I think that’s going to really allow us to take the scalability, the network management agility of 5G and really push that across a lot of our communications architecture,” Mike Dean, director for C3 infrastructure in the office of the DOD Chief Information Officer, said Thursday during a panel at the Potomac Officers Club’s annual Defense R&D Summit in Northern Virginia.
The NTN examination, which is slated to begin in a few weeks, will include officials from across the department as well as engagement with industry, according to Dean.
“It’s a kind of an internal look in the DOD, across the DoD, [with] a lot of stakeholders. And it’s both with industry and our DOD mil [departments] and agencies,” he told DefenseScoop at the conference. “We’re just trying to get a sense of where they are and where they’re headed, so we can set policy and resources.”
The Pentagon is pursuing new satellite systems, drones and other airborne platforms to help move data and better link U.S. military forces and key allies and partners.
The plan for the upcoming study is to “do industry engagement, bring those folks in, start saying, ‘What kind of capabilities do you have? What are you working on?’ So that we can look long term and say, ‘How do I set the requirements, how do I set the resources, and how do I set the architecture and policy?’” Dean remarked. “Because what we don’t want to do is be in a situation where we have Tetris, we have all these solutions coming in, and now we’re trying to mix and match. And having that framework in place allows us to do it quicker.”
DOD has a variety of initiatives underway that are expected to boost non-terrestrial networking. For example, the Space Development Agency is moving forward with plans to build out a massive constellation of hundreds of satellites in low-Earth orbit known as the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture for data transport and missile tracking.
The Pentagon is also working to onboard new wireless tech with 5G and “FutureG” initiatives.
These efforts are intended to help the military communicate faster and manage data more effectively.
“One of the things we’re excited about when you look at taking satellite communications from [geostationary orbit] all the way down to LEO and not GEO, [is] you’re able to … decrease latency, increase throughput. And that’s the kind of advantage you [also] get from 5G. So we think if you pair those two, that’s going to be pretty powerful, particularly as you’re trying to track” forces that are forward deployed and keep up with “the pace of battle,” Dean said.
