On May 1, 2020, the US Department of Defense will announce a tender for the development and deployment of a satellite data exchange network that will use a mesh topology. According to C4ISRNET, it is planned to select the tender winners in August, and in the summer of 2022, the military intends to launch the first segment of the network, consisting of 20 spacecraft.
A data exchange network built on a mesh topology assumes that each individual network participant can connect to other similar participants and assume the role of a switch. Thus, the network is devoid of specific control nodes. This provides high resiliency - failure of one network participant does not violate its integrity and data flow.
The Pentagon's mesh satellite network will consist of satellites in low-earth and geostationary orbits. These satellites will provide military personnel on the ground with data from various reconnaissance spacecraft. The satellites will exchange data with each other via optical terminals.
The network will be built in three phases, the first of which will include 20 satellites in 2022. The second phase will be launched in 2024, and the third one in 2026. The exact number of devices on the network has not yet been determined, but representatives of the Pentagon say that it will include several hundred satellites.
After the completion of the first stage of the formation of the mesh network, the military intends to conduct demonstration tests. During these tests, it is planned to test the possibility of transmitting reconnaissance data to ground units with minimal delay, transmitting data from satellite to satellite via optical terminals, as well as the limited capability of combat control.
In addition, the possibility of transmitting data of the Link-16 communication system in real time, as well as relaying this data, will be tested. In the future, the US military expects to use a mesh satellite network in multi-domain operations.
The Pentagon unveiled the concept of multi-domain warfare in 2016. It assumes coordinated and accurate participation in combat operations of different types and types of troops at the same time: from the Navy and Air Force to cyber troops and the Space Command. The military believes that in the event of a war, this is the approach that will allow them to defeat a high-tech enemy.
Today, the coordination of actions of all the branches and branches of the armed forces existing in the armed forces is extremely difficult, and therefore in the event of a real war, all kinds of errors, overlaps and time lags will be frequent.
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Vasily Sychev