Satellite communications for fighters

WIth the demise of the Soviet Union, the threat to the US and its allies has changed. Instead of a single advisory and a defined theater of battle, US forces face worldwide deployment in support of peace keeping activities and regional conflicts. In the new world order, US Forces will require flexible, worldwide, jam-resistant, low-probability-of intercept communications, including space-premium fighters. The integrated CNI subsystem (ICNIS), which includes Milstar satellite communications, could satisfy that need by upgrading the integrated avionics suite of existing fighters. Many of the Milstar functions, such as frequency conversion, signal processing, detection, display, and control could be performed in the ICNIS common avionics modules. The Milstar antenna for the fighter would be a hybrid, solid-state phased array being developed by Rome Laboratory for the Milstar frequency band-20 GHz receive and 44 GHz transmit. A feasibility study for the integrated CNI subsystem is currently underway. A brassboard development, demonstration, and flight test is also underway for the integrated tactical Milstar to demonstrate the Milstar satellite communications functions as part of a common avionics suite