Luxembourg DoD adds satcom ground infrastructure

The Luxembourg Directorate of Defence (DoD) has procured two new ground stations, following a competitive call for tender to enable the Luxembourg Army to improve its resilience by accessing secure satellite communications services.

The ground stations, which will be installed at the Luxembourg Army’s Military Centre in Diekirch, will be used for Luxembourg’s GovSat-1 satellite services in X- and Military Ka-band frequencies, as well as for the Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) system, the backbone of the satellite communications capability of the US DoD.

The addition of the ground stations will reinforce resiliency and augment the existing Luxembourg Army satcom infrastructure already built by SES and HITEC Luxembourg 10 years ago, bringing the total number of dedicated antennas to four. The new ground stations unlock the strong potential to scale and add interoperability with the NATO partner systems, in line with the country’s defence strategy for the years to come.

“Access to secure satellite communications has always been among the priorities and strengths of Luxembourg, allowing the country to reinforce defence capabilities as well as enabling fulfilment of Luxembourg’s commitments towards the EU and NATO,” said Yuriko Backes, Luxembourg Minister of Defence. “To keep the upper technological edge, we will continue to leverage Luxembourg’s globally renowned expertise in the space sector to increase our resilience, including that of our armed forces.”

“It is an honour for SES to help strengthen the Luxembourg Government’s defence pillar by adding resiliency to its secure satcom,” said Adel Al-Saleh, CEO of SES. “Following the successful implementation of the initial ground stations by the Luxembourg Army, we are delighted to extend its communications infrastructure that leverages Luxembourg’s GovSat-1 and enhances interoperability with the partner systems.”

“We are proud to be part of the project and once again join efforts with SES to help augment Luxembourg’s defence capabilities with resilient and proven technology,” concluded Philippe Osch, CEO of HITEC Luxembourg. “The ground terminals to be supplied for the Luxembourg Army’s satcom infrastructure are a source of particular pride for us as they combine the latest technological innovations and a track record of superior ‘Made in Luxembourg’ quality.”