TC Communications and ADF sign WGS contract

Australian satellite communications specialist, TC Communications, has signed another contract to provide service and support to the Australian Defence Force (ADF) in their project to deploy integrated Wideband Global Satellite communications capability into the ADF.

On May 9 2013, Minister for Defence Materiel Dr Mike Kelly AM MP announced that Defence had signed two multimillion-dollar contracts for the supply and support of satellite terminals to the ADF. TC Communications partnered with L-3 Oceania in this program, which will see L-3 Oceania providing 51 terminals, 30 deployment kits, spares and test equipment at a value of approximately $38.5 million.

TC Communications is involved in a separate, performance-based, in-service support contract that provides logistics support, engineering services, supply support services and maintenance services.

This contract follows on from another WGS contract that saw a partnership between TC Communications and Bridge Networks deliver the first WGS anchor earth stations via the JP 2008 Phase 4 project. TC also provides all training and support functions, including engineering support, under a multi-year contract for Phase 4 of the JP2008 project.

In 2007 the Australian Government announced that it would fund a sixth Wideband Global Satellite (WGS) under an agreement to access the US satellite communications system. This agreement sought to strengthen the Australian-US alliance and enhance the communication capability of the military by delivering access to the WGS constellation of satellites with their global coverage, increased wideband capacity and operational flexibility. The WGS program directly contributes to the ADF, fulfilling the Network Centric Warfare Roadmap aims of becoming a network-enabled force by 2016.

The signing of this contract under JP 2008 Phase 3H will expand the use of the WGS system by introducing medium-sized, WGS-certifiable transportable satellite terminals to ADF land forces - thus allowing earlier use of enhanced satellite communications services in Australia and in key operational areas where commercial satellite resources are limited.