Harris has successfully demonstrated that its advanced Antenna Control Unit (ACU) can help track a satellite and maintain a communications link in extremely adverse sea conditions, including wave heights of more than 45 feet. The demonstration met the performance requirements for the $1 billion next-generation Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) Navy Multiband Terminal program that Harris is pursuing.
Harris announced the successful results during West 2007, being held January 31 – February 2 at the San Diego Convention Center. West 2007 is co-sponsored by the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA) International and the U.S. Naval Institute.
Harris showed that its control unit for the Harris-produced Super High Frequency AN/WSC-6(V)9 Multiband Shipboard SATCOM Terminal can control the antenna so that it can continue to track a satellite and maintain the communications link under sea conditions equivalent to the most severe, as defined in Department of Defense Standard 1399, including wave heights of up to 45.5 feet.
"Harris is continually advancing the state of the art in shipboard satellite communications technology, and this is another example of our commitment to putting the most reliable equipment into the hands of warfighters on land and at sea," said Sheldon Fox, vice president and general manager of Department of Defense Programs, Harris Government Communications Systems Division.
"This successful demonstration validates Harris Corporation's leadership position in highly reliable SATCOM equipment and positions us well for the AEHF Navy Multiband Terminal program."
The Harris AN/WSC-6(V)9 Multiband Shipboard SATCOM Terminal provides reliable, high-data-rate X- and C-band communications to deployed small combatant and support naval ships. The test was performed at Harris laboratory facilities in Palm Bay, Florida, using a new version of the WSC-6 operating in the Ka-band frequency. The test included successful Ka-band operation at plus or minus 35 degrees of roll, plus or minus 12 degrees of pitch, and plus or minus 8.5 degrees of yaw.
