Hughes and partners collab to bring LEO capability to AFRL DEUCSI program
NewsFebruary 12, 2025
HOUSTON. Hughes Network Systems reports that it will collaborate with Eutelsat America Corp. and OneWeb Technologies Inc (EACOWT) -- operating in combination as a wholly owned independent U.S. proxy company and subsidiary of Eutelsat Group -- to develop an enterprise-grade OneWeb capable low-Earth orbit (LEO) modem transceiver circuit card assembly (CCA) intended to support EACOWT’s contract with L3Harris Technologies for the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Defense Experimentation Using Commercial Space Internet (DEUCSI) Call 003 program.
The Hughes press release on the contract states that the hybrid satellite communications (SATCOM) technology is aimed at dellivering resilient Eutelsat OneWeb LEO broadband connectivity to the L3Harris RASOR Ecosystem, a scalable and configurable waveform solution that unifies multiple line-of-sight and beyond line-of-sight capabilities (LOS/BLOS) into a single unit. The solutigon will provide military users with flexible software-defined multi-orbit connectivity for critical comms on the pause (COTP), comms on the move (COTM), and aero applications through the AFRL’s DEUCSI Call 003 program. The partners believe that the solution will help augment military communications by leveraging agile, commercial satellite innovation, beginning in 2025.
As a Eutelsat OneWeb and EACOWT distribution partner, Hughes has already delivered and developed the OneWeb gateway electronics and core modules that enable military users to access OneWeb LEO broadband connectivity. The company information notes that together, EACOWT and Hughes have delivered OneWeb LEO capabilities in the Arctic region for AFRL since 2021.
“Hughes looks forward to developing this critical, multi-orbit solution, which will integrate Eutelsat OneWeb’s resilient LEO broadband connectivity into L3Harris’ innovative RASOR Ecosystem,” said Raghunandan Janardhan, vice president at Hughes Defense and Government Systems. “By collaborating with EACOWT, we are meeting military requirements for innovative, resilient satellite communications worldwide.”
