Viasat, Inc. has successfully supported the U.S. Air Force’s Air Mobility Command (AMC) during the recent Mobility Guardian 2023 (MG23) military exercise. The exercise involved 3,000 personnel and 70 aircraft from the U.S. and Allied Forces, including Canada, France, New Zealand, and the U.K.
The MG23 exercise tested a rapid ‘hub and spoke’ operational model across challenging environments. It featured complex test flights and operational scenarios across 3,000 miles of the Pacific region, including Japan, Australia, and Hawaii.
Viasat provided resilient and interoperable airborne communications for the exercise through its C-130 Hercules Beyond Line-of-Sight (BLOS) hatch terminal. This terminal enables airborne command and control (C2) and situational awareness during missions, allowing rapid deployment and increased maneuverability of forces. It provides Automated Primary, Alternate, Contingency, and Emergency (APACE) capabilities by seamlessly roaming across orbits and networks for resilient communications.
Additionally, Viasat supplied MG23’s Contingency Response Group with its nexgen interoperable tactical gateway, called Move Out/Jump Off (MOJO) Next. This terminal integrates with the USAF’s operational systems to crosslink incompatible networks and provide C2 and situational awareness on the battlefield, even when troops are deployed thousands of miles from home.
Viasat also provided ground Beyond Line-of-Sight (BLOS) capabilities with its multi-mission terminal, which offers small, rapidly deployable, multi-band, multi-waveform capability using a software-defined modem. Furthermore, Viasat’s NOMAD terminal provided Ka-band connectivity, and the company utilized its NetAgility SD-WAN networking router to bridge these networks with APACE, ensuring robust and resilient connectivity.
Overall, Viasat’s technology demonstrated its ability to offer connectivity, software, and terminals that provide agility, mobility, and maneuverability in modern military operations. The company’s solutions aim to standardize the AMC fleet and drive down modification costs in the future.