Boeing just successfully proved its concept for a ground-based communication system that could protect satellites from jamming. The final test took place on Jan. 20th and was an operational test to confirm the application of this system.
This system is known as the Protected Tactical Enterprise Services and was developed by Boeing for contested environment communication. The system works by processing real time information to geolocate jamming sources and suppress the signal. This is based on the U.S. military’s PTW (Protected Tactical Waveform) that is used for sensitive communication and already is jam resistant. Testing has shown that the system can autonomously react and suppress signal threats even in highly dynamic environments. This has even been shown to work where the ground user is in close area to the jamming threat as well. The initial testing for this system was simulation threats and took place last year in 2022.
Now with this positive operational outcome the system is stated to be operational by the year 2024 and will support Boeing’s Wideband Global Satellite Communication spacecraft being developed for military.
With recent events in Ukraine and the Russian’s attempts to jam the civilian Starlink systems it became pertinent for the U.S. military to make sure the communications it relies on are protected. The way that Starlink was able to mitigate these jamming attempts quickly and decisively from a capable electronic warfare military is something that the U.S. military needs in any near peer fight. This PTES system is a step to give the warfighter on the ground the reliability to operate in contested war environments.
https://boeing.mediaroom.com/news-releases-statements?item=131173