Lockheed Martin MUOS-3 satellite extends military comms

By

Tony Ware

MUOS-4, the next satellite scheduled to join the NavyÕs new Òcellphone tower network in spaceÓ to provide secure communications for mobile military forces, is in final assembly and test at Lockheed MartinÕs satellite manufacturing facility in Sunnyvale, California.

Related: Harris demonstrates Falcon radios using MUOS waveform

MUOS-3 expands a network of orbiting satellites and relay ground stations that go beyond legacy voice-only systems to connect secure terminals around the globe, beyond line-of-sight, with smartphone-like capabilities, including simultaneous and prioritized voice, video and mission data on a high-speed Internet Protocol-based system.

MUOS-3 expands the network across three-quarters of the globe, offering significantly more north and south coverage to mobile military forces, while MUOS-4 is expected to join the network later in 2015, providing near global coverage.