Industry participants are working with legacy competitors and diverse partners (including tropospheric scatter, UHF, HF, optical links, HAPS, and terrestrial 5G integrations) to deliver hybrid MilCom solutions.

The industry is moving toward layered SatCom architectures that combine low Earth orbit (LEO), medium Earth orbit (MEO), and geostationary orbit (GEO) assets to create a moving-target defense posture.

By utilizing diverse waveforms and multiple orbits, defence SatCom networks can automatically reroute traffic through another layer if one link is jammed or destroyed to ensure mission continuity.

Panelists identified procurement processes, supply-chain vetting briefings, and meaningful ops-to-ops threat briefings from governments as critical inputs for industry to deliver timely defence SatCom solutions.

MDA is developing software-defined satellites to enable in-orbit modification of payload behavior and is a partner in the ESCP (Enhanced Satellite Communication Project – Polar) program with Telesat and a customer in a collaborative design partnership.

The sector is shifting toward software-defined ground systems that allow remote software updates to change waveforms or protocols without shipping new hardware to deployed units.

SES delivered the O3b mPOWER program and participates in the NATO MGS contract, which is a flexible agreement that allows global capacity movement, bring-your-own-equipment, and supports a Protected Tactical Waveform on an open bent-pipe system.

Andrew Staniland characterized traditional defence procurement as slower than commercial cycles but noted procurement flexibility can enable software-defined payloads and hybrid network design.

Global Invacom plans to host software-defined radios (SDRs) and standard waveforms in its terminals to enable network roaming.

Defence SATCOM capabilities are incorporating Low Probability of Detection/Intercept (LPx) techniques and Low Probability of Intercept (LPI) to reduce RF signatures and protect senders from geolocation and kinetic targeting.

Global Invacom’s transceiver design for the XY terminal integrates LNB, BUC, OMT, and TRF and supports digital RF-over-IP (DIFI) connectivity and I/Q for greater bandwidth and resiliency.

The GSOA webinar “Securing the Future: Satellite Communications for Defence & Security” was moderated by Paul Wells of the UK Ministry of Defence and included panelists from ST Engineering iDirect, SES, MDA Space, and Global Invacom.

Many organizations are evolving PACE models toward a PAN model (Primary: commercial high-throughput; Alternate: highly resilient lower-bandwidth; None) to reflect modern hybrid backhaul architectures.

Antennas and mass production of affordable terminals were identified as a key technology enabler for making multi-orbit and hybrid SatCom widely deployable.

Skynet 5 has provided hybrid-network-like capabilities for about 20 years with multi-orbit, multi-frequency, and multi-provider connectivity, though it was not originally designed as a hybrid network.

The European Iris2 project was described in the discussion as a 150 billion secure connectivity project and a major program of interest to potential partners and customers in Europe.

Panelists described the complexity of managing traffic across thousands of satellites and multiple orbits as exceeding human capacity and requiring Artificial Intelligence for resource management.

Commercial LEO constellations such as Starlink and future Amazon LEO deployments are driving consolidation and competitive responses across the SatCom sector.

ST Engineering iDirect is building a multi-orbit, multi-frequency platform with PACE (Primary, Alternate, Contingent, Emergency) capability and a network management system for flexible routing.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being deployed to optimize network performance in real time, detect interference, and automatically reallocate resources without human intervention.

Global Invacom’s XY terminal provides connectivity to any of the four major orbit types and includes electronic pole switching for flexible beam switching under interference.

High Altitude Platforms (HAPS) were identified as quicker-to-deploy assets that will play a role in responsive communications capability.

The ESCP program is structured as a partnership between MDA, Telesat, and the customer to collaboratively design polar communications requirements rather than as a traditional put-it-out-to-tender contract.

Under TOUCAN, GMV will establish an accurate and independently verifiable TWSTFT link between the United Kingdom’s enhanced Long-Range Navigation (eLoran) system and the National Physical Laboratory (NPL).

TOUCAN is supported by the UK National Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) Office.

The National Physical Laboratory is the United Kingdom’s official timekeeping authority.

GMV will design, develop, and test a Two-Way Satellite Time and Frequency Transfer (TWSTFT) system as part of the TOUCAN project.

The UK Space Agency frames the TOUCAN investment as part of growing international efforts to diversify and harden positioning, navigation, and timing infrastructure as reliance on precise timing and navigation expands across civil, commercial, and defence sectors.

Viasat is providing satellite bandwidth for TOUCAN and is supporting the evaluation of potential advancements in TWSTFT technology.

Mark Dumville is the general manager of GMV in the United Kingdom.

TOUCAN complements the United Kingdom’s efforts to re-establish eLoran as a terrestrial backup to satellite-based navigation and timing services.

GMV will lead the development of a secure time transfer capability under a government-backed project called TOUCAN.

TOUCAN is funded by the UK Space Agency through the United Kingdom’s participation in the European Space Agency’s Navigation Innovation and Support Programme (NAVISP).

GMV is responsible for the TOUCAN system’s design, integration, and operational demonstration.

The United Kingdom is investing in satellite-based timing infrastructure to strengthen national resilience and reduce reliance on vulnerable satellite navigation systems.

The TWSTFT link under TOUCAN is intended to enable eLoran to operate independently of GNSS while maintaining time traceability to Coordinated Universal Time as maintained by the National Physical Laboratory.

TOUCAN is part of the UK Government’s Framework for Greater PNT Resilience, which aims to safeguard critical infrastructure by reducing dependence on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) and strengthening nationally assured timing capabilities.

The TOUCAN system will provide a secure TWSTFT connection to a research and development timing facility to create a reference that could support future requirements for synchronization, communications integrity, and mission-critical operations.

AstroX is based in Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan.

The December 2025 experiment tested a launcher that AstroX designed and developed in-house to serve as a mount for its rocket.

On February 4, AstroX raised 2.32 billion yen in funding.

AstroX succeeded in its first launcher experiment in December 2025.

AstroX plans to advance development to air-launching rockets and to train for large-balloon operations.

In the December 2025 launcher experiment, AstroX operated the launcher and then successfully removed a dummy rocket with a crane to achieve separation.

AstroX is a startup developing orbital launch rockets using the Rockoon method, which air-launches rockets from high-altitude balloons.

With the new funding, AstroX aims to reach outer space within 2026 and will increase investment in rocket development and personnel hiring.

The third-party allotment investors in AstroX’s funding round were One Capital, Inclusion Japan, and angel investors.

The lunar environmental tests are part of the qualification path for the Blue Moon MK1 ahead of future lunar missions.

Blue Moon MK1 is part of Blue Origin’s lunar program focused on developing systems for transport and landing on the lunar surface.

NASA Johnson Space Center has thermal vacuum chambers capable of reproducing lunar vacuum and extreme thermal excursions.