Considerations for a MILSATCOM SHF DAMA standard

The authors examine issues related to the development of a MILSATCOM SHF DAMA (demand assignment multiple access) standard. Because the service requirements and traffic characteristics of SHF user missions, and the terminal equipment used to support them, are diverse, no single DAMA implementation can adequately satisfy all of the requirements. The proposed SHF DAMA standard (SDS) structure addresses this diversity with four individual DAMA elements, each for a different user application. Specifically, the authors consider hub-based DAMA systems that employ the conventional very small aperture terminal `star´ network architecture separately from systems that employ direct terminal-to-terminal connectivity. A second division is made within these two groups according to general mission requirements and terminal capabilities. The four DAMA SDS elements are mapped against four terminal categories, and a candidate implementation is outlined for the third SDS element, which corresponds to a direct-connectivity DAMA system requiring antijam protection