Ramona Adams
Inmarsat and Spectra Group have partnered to develop a mobile satellite service intended to help military customers facilitate ultra and very high-frequency tactical communications.
Steve Gizinski, vice president of special programs at Inmarsat’s U.S. government business unit, wrote in a blog post published Monday the L-band Tactical Satellite platform works to provide data and voice connectivity for military users.
He noted that L-TAC employs Spectra Group’s Slingshot frequency converter technology designed to connect military and government radios to a commercial L-band satellite.
The integrated system also works to help “users to transition from larger UHF/VHF antennas to smaller, discreet omni-directional ones, which can be placed on a vehicle, a helicopter or the backpacks of soldiers on the move,” he added.
According to Gizenski, various military organizations currently use the global L-TAC service.
Inmarsat and Spectra also developed a civilian variant of the system in an effort to help facilitate law enforcement and emergency communications.
