Lockheed Martin to launch key satellite prototypes

A rendering of Lockheed Martin's Tactical Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance satellite (TacSat). (Lockheed Martin)

US defence conglomerate Lockheed Martin is poised to launch a pair of satellite technology demonstrators into orbit, which company officials say will prove out a series of advanced technologies in the areas of 5G and multimission satellite bus capability.

Company officials are preparing for the inaugural launch of its tactical intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) satellite (TacSat) variant, equipped for the first time with a 5G-based hybrid mesh network payload, dubbed ‘5G.MIL', said Jeff Schrader, Lockheed Martin's vice-president of global situation awareness.

“What TacSat does with that 5G payload is speed up the connectivity within a multidomain use case [scenario],” Schrader said during a 20 November briefing.

The 5G TacSat variant will also be outfitted with an infrared (IR) sensor package, dual hatting the ISR satellite as a high-speed satellite communications (satcom) platform, as well as a collection system via the IR sensor. Programme officials anticipate leveraging the 5G payload as a network and communications hub for both space- and terrestrial-based assets, Schrader explained.

“What I think we are going to do with this [payload] is connect a lot of other assets to it – space-to-ground and space-to-space [assets] and those kinds of things,” he said.

In November 2023 company officials demonstrated the 5G.MIL capability for the first time in a multimission environment, according to a company statement at the time. The 5G.MIL Unified Network Solutions (UNS) were successfully tested across numerous mission simulations to establish stability and suitability for use in Joint All-Domain Operations (JADO) and Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control (CJADC2), company officials said in the statement.