WASHINGTON — Lite Coms in New York has paired its portable Lite Sat 1.3A satellite communications terminal with Arizona-based Comtech's SLM-5650B modem.

The configuration has received SES Government Technology Certification (GTC) Type 2 approval for use as a remote terminal with O3b mPOWER Sovereign Services and Hybrid Sovereign Gateway architectures.

The combination is intended for defense and government users connecting to SES's O3b mPOWER medium-Earth-orbit (MEO) network. It gives them a pre-validated terminal and modem pairing rather than requiring individual programs to integrate and evaluate the equipment themselves.

For military users, this could support the shift toward hybrid satellite networks while giving government organizations greater control over their ground infrastructure.

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Portable terminal connects to sovereign MEO services

Lite Coms designed the Lite Sat 1.3A for expeditionary operations where teams need to establish satellite connectivity without transporting a large fixed ground terminal.

The U.S.-built very small aperture terminal (VSAT) supports X-, Ku- and Ka-band satellite communications and packs into an airline-checkable configuration. Lite Coms targets the system at forward-deployed teams and mobile command units operating in austere environments.

The new configuration pairs that antenna system with Comtech's software-defined SLM-5650B satellite modem. Comtech designed the modem for government and military satellite networks. The SLM-5650B supports several U.S. Defense Department and NATO waveforms and holds certification for the Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) constellation.

Certification addresses the integration step

Satellite connectivity depends on more than having a compatible antenna and modem. Programs also have to determine whether different pieces of ground equipment operate correctly together and meet the requirements of the network they plan to use. That integration work can add technical evaluation, testing and documentation before equipment reaches the field.

The GTC certification addresses that step by validating the Lite Sat 1.3A and SLM-5650B as a combined remote-terminal configuration within the SES ecosystem.

“As network sovereignty becomes a key differentiator in battlefield superiority, we remain focused on delivering interoperable, mission-ready solutions that reduce integration burden, streamline acquisition, and enable customer control of critical communications,” said Robert Jacobson, CEO of Lite Coms.

Military SATCOM moves toward multiple orbits

The certification comes as defense organizations continue to look beyond communications architectures built around a single satellite constellation or orbital regime.

Geostationary satellites remain an important part of military communications, while MEO and low-Earth-orbit networks provide additional options for capacity, latency, coverage and resiliency. Combining those resources can give users more paths for moving information if one connection becomes unavailable or unsuitable for a particular mission.

O3b mPOWER operates in MEO and provides high-throughput connectivity through SES's second-generation constellation.

The Lite Coms and Comtech configuration specifically addresses the ground side of that connection by providing a portable antenna and modem pairing that government customers can use to reach the network.

It also supports a growing interest in sovereign architectures, where customers have greater control over the communications infrastructure they use rather than depending entirely on a commercially managed service.

Ground equipment remains part of the multi-orbit equation

A multi-orbit network only becomes useful to deployed personnel if their ground equipment can reach and move among the available satellite resources.

Portable terminals therefore have to balance several requirements. They need the flexibility to work across different frequencies and networks while remaining portable enough for personnel to transport and set up in the field.

The Lite Sat 1.3A addresses the terminal side of that problem, while the SLM-5650B provides the modem and waveform capabilities needed to establish the communications link.

Daniel Gizinski, president of Comtech's Satellite and Space Communications segment, said the companies developed the configuration to provide sovereign SATCOM capabilities for U.S. military personnel.

The certified pairing gives defense users another portable ground option as they add MEO connectivity to existing SATCOM architectures.