GX for Government - The global Ka-Band network built with government customers specific needs in mind
Insight | A holistic SATCOM strategy to support the U.S. Government Arctic vision
The Arctic is home to four million people, vast natural resources and unique ecosystems that create opportunities for sustained economic growth, according to the White House’s National Strategy for the Arctic Region[1]. The region is emerging as more accessible than ever for the U.S. and its allies – but also for our adversaries.
To counter such threats, the U.S. Government seeks “an Arctic region that is peaceful, stable, prosperous and cooperative” with “guardrails to manage competition and resolve disputes without force or coercion,” according to the strategy. The 2022 National Defense Strategy[2] echoes this by calling for greater early warning and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities to support “a stable Arctic region characterized by adherence to internationally-agreed upon rules and norms.”
These guardrails and investments in stabilization are already in place, with more such allocations to come:
The world’s militaries will continue to boost their presence in the Arctic manifested through increasing levels of training, troops, equipment, and infrastructure. In response to the expanding use of northern latitudes for air, land and sea operations, we have developed a holistic approach to deliver reliable and resilient SATCOM in this high-demand region. This includes partnering with Space Norway to develop two highly elliptical orbit (HEO) satellites, as well as providing cold weather hardening of terminals and software retrofits to ensure compatibility with HEO spacecraft operations.
Built by Northrop Grumman for the Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission (ASBM), the new HEO satellites will carry payloads for Viasat, the Norwegian Ministry of Defense and the U.S. Space Force. For government customers, the satellites would extend our award-winning Global Xpress wideband service, now operated by Viasat following the acquisition of Inmarsat on May 30th, 2023, and its military Ka-band (mil-Ka) capability via the Viasat GX10A and GX10B payloads, the first of which just completed thermal vacuum testing. The ASBM satellites are scheduled to launch in early Q3 2024 with service anticipated to begin by the end of 2024. Together, these satellites and the associated ground infrastructure represent the world’s first and only mobile wideband payloads dedicated to the Arctic region
