Comtech has received a $48.6-million contract to provide satellite communication (SATCOM) modems for the US Army.
The contract supports the service’s effort to bolster its in-orbit satellite digitization and modernization programs.
For the project, the company will produce, test, and supply its proprietary Enterprise Digital Intermediate Frequency Multi-Carrier (EDIM) modem.
The solution works with multiple satellite providers by leveraging advanced digital and software-defined technology and will become one of the primary modems employed across the US military, Comtech noted.
Once delivered, EDIM will replace the aging Enhanced Bandwidth Efficient Modems or EBEMS currently used in the US Army, Air Force, and Navy.
Maintaining ‘Information Advantage’
EDIM can be linked with ground-based and non-terrestrial communications platforms as well as unified hybrid network infrastructures, setting standards for a “new era of blended, smart-enabled connectivity.”
“Our EDIM SATCOM modems are designed to enable the Department of Defense to move to digitized, hybrid satellite network architectures — enabling warfighters to easily roam across orbital regimes and blend capabilities from traditionally disparate networks to maintain an information advantage in the world’s most challenging geographies,” Comtech CEO and President Ken Peterman explained.
“Our EDIM modems are designed to continuously evolve over time with the ability to introduce performance enhancements and new blended services that can reduce operator burden and significantly enhance all-domain mission effectiveness.”
Latest US Military SATCOM Projects
The US trialed an enhanced SATCOM capability with an MQ-9 Reaper aerial drone in May for future intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions of remote military bases.
In March, the US Marine Corps awarded a contract for the supply of an expeditionary satellite supporting “warfighter resiliency and agility in the field.”
Last year, aerospace company Boeing demonstrated an autonomous anti-jam technology to secure a US Space Force SATCOM prototype.