#IT & Technology - Telecom
Air Force tests satellite network against worst-case scenario
Workers prepare the Air Force's third Advanced Extremely High Frequency satellite
The Air Force recently tested whether its high-powered communications satellites could be operated from a mobile ground unit in case of a nuclear war.
In January, after about six months of testing, the exercise proved that the Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) communications satellites could be operated remotely and securely from outside their Integrated Operations Environment.
The Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellite system is designed to survive a nuclear war, and to keep the United States military communicating in case of that catastrophic possibility.
As part of the operations test, operators monitored the satellites from mobile systems instead of their normal control center.
The 4th Space Operations Squadron (4 SOPS) has command and control of the system, along with other Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine units. They operate out of Shriever Air Force Base in Colorado. It was 4 SOPS that took the AEHF controls on the road, leaving Shriever able to monitor, but not control, the satellite group.
Airmen resolve satellite anomalies from their advanced ground mobile units Jan. 13, 2015, at Schriever Air Force Base, Colo. Image credit: Staff Sgt. Julius Delos Reyes, U. S. Air Force
"If for some reason, we need to go out and operate the satellites because we can't do it here at Schriever because of a threat, a war or any incident, then we go operate out of our mobile units," said Lt. Col. Zachary Owen, the 4th SOPS director of operations. "The piece of this testing was to make sure we can operate out of those mobile units for an extended period of time."
The Air Force also studied how the test affected the end users the satellites are designed to serve, including two Navy destroyers and two submarines, three Army locations, two Marine sites and multiple other U.S. Strategic Command locations. The test also included international partners, such as the United Kingdom, Canada and the Netherlands.
During the same period, military cybersecurity experts tested the AHF’s secure network, replicating the kind of attack likely to target the satellites.
An undisclosed third party agency helped the Air Force test the satellite under conditions similar to those that would arise after a nuclear explosion.
"It was a huge test," said Major Matthew Collins, Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center Detachment 4 AEHF test director. "Overall, it has taken about six months. We tested a total of 38 GSUs (geographically separated units). It was an expansive and rigorous test.”
The AEHF satellites were built by Lockheed Martin. They communicate with the previous generation communication satellites, known as Milstar, with which they serve as one large constellation.
