Marines pick Lite Coms for development and fielding of new satellite communications for the battlefield
QUANTICO, Va. – U.S. Marine Corps satellite communications (SATCOM) experts needed beyond line of sight SATCOM terminals for battlefield access to Internet and U.S. military information via satellite. They found their solution from Lite Coms LLC in Victor, N.Y.
Officials of the Marine Corps Systems Command at Quantico Marine Base, Va., announced a half-billion-dollar contract to Lite Coms on 11 Sept. for the purchase of Marine Corps Wideband Satellite Communication-Light and -Heavy (MCWS-L/H).
The MCWS-L/H will use SATCOM terminals to provide Marines operating on the edge of the battlefield access to the World Wide Web, Department of Defense (DOD) information network services, and Marine Corps enterprise services via military communications gateways.
The contract calls for MCWS-L/H test systems to support a fielding decision, as well as production, testing, and delivery of systems to support the Marine Corps fielding requirements.
Related: Eyes in the sky - today's military SATCOM
The $500 million contract also will require delivery of technical, logistics, and training data and support, and any technology upgrades or engineering changes necessary to maintain the MCWS-L and MCWS-H communications systems.
Lite Coms will handle MCWS-L/H development in two phases: testing and logistics to support a Marine Corps production decision; and production, testing, and delivery of systems to support the Marine Corps's fielding requirements.
Many of the technical details of the MCWS-L/H have not been made public. The SATCOM devices will be modular, multichannel, super-high-frequency (SHF) terminals that communicate over X-, Ku-, and Ka-bands. The light system is for battalions and smaller Marine Corps units, and the heavy system is for regiments, divisions, and expeditionary forces.
On this contract Lite Coms will do the work in Victor, N.Y., and should be finished by September 2028. For more information contact Lite Coms online at www.litecoms.com, or Marine Corps Systems Command at www.marcorsyscom.marines.mil.
John Keller | Editor-in-Chief
John Keller is the Editor-in-Chief, Military & Aerospace Electronics Magazine--provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronics and optoelectronic technologies in military, space and commercial aviation applications. John has been a member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since 1989 and chief editor since 1995.
