07 October 2025

Alasdair Ambroziak, Head of Sales for Satcom and Security, Thales UK

Spoofing, jamming, cyber threats and electromagnetic disruption can down signals and networks before the first shot is fired – rendering forces blind, deaf and outmanoeuvred.

In high-threat theatres, communications availability can determine mission success. Today’s military operations demand systems that can adapt, endure and deliver under pressure.

The MOD’s Strategic Defence Review calls for an Integrated Force capable of increasing its lethality tenfold across a battlespace in constant flux. That means smarter, more resilient connectivity – not just more of it.

Proposed capabilities like the Digital Targeting Web – underpinned by a resilient network – and the establishment of a Cyber and Electromagnetic Command highlight the growing centrality of this domain to UK defence strategy. But delivering that vision demands communications systems built to operate in congested, complex and contested environments.

SKYNET 6: SatCom as a strategic asset

With the SKYNET 6A satellite scheduled for launch in 2026, MOD’s next generation of SKYNET is set for lift-off. This shift repositions SatCom not as infrastructure, but as a strategic weapon in its own right.

This programme is a complete regeneration of the UK’s secure, beyond-line-of-sight comms – spanning the space segment, ground infrastructure and user terminals, prioritising sovereignty, interoperability and modularity across orbits and mission types.

It is one of the MOD’s most ambitious efforts to date. Contracts like the Next Generation Land Terminal and the Maritime Military SatCom Terminal offer both challenge and opportunity: to improve the capability of the military’s terminals so they advance in step with SKYNET 6’s far-reaching ambitions.
Yet beneath this all lies a simple requirement: the frontline operator needs communications that just work – first time, every time.

Hybridisation: adaptable SatCom for today’s battlefield

On the frontline, the right message must reach the right person at the right time – regardless of the bearer, and no matter how degraded or contested the environment.

Increasing network hybridisation makes this achievable. By leveraging a combination of orbits (LEO, MEO, HEO and GEO), frequency bands, and non-satellite communication channels (like terrestrial or tactical radio), hybridisation aims to offer the kind of connectivity operators have come to expect from their personal mobile networks.

Smartphone users don’t worry about switching between 4G, 5G or Wi-Fi. The system just connects. That’s the ambition for defence. Orchestration is key to delivering this “mobile-like” experience. Whether managed within the terminal or elsewhere in the communications stack. It involves coordinating satellites, frequencies and terrestrial networks to dynamically select the best communication path based on signal strength, latency, bandwidth and security.

Secure data flow is non-negotiable. Every piece of information must be trusted. That means embedding encryption, authentication and integrity measures so data is received without delay, processed confidently and exploited without hesitation.

Civilian telecom standards can’t simply be lifted into the military domain. But certain standards can still play a role. 3GPPP and Open Antenna to Modem Interface Protocol, and Digital IF Interoperability, for example, can help increase interoperability.

SurfSAT–L: a hybrid solution in action

With hybrid SatCom, capability isn’t enough – it has to deliver an effect. Whether enabling machine-to-machine speed communications for uncrewed systems or accelerating situational awareness, the real test is how information exchange performs under pressure. That means not just roaming networks or resisting interference, but empowering operators with adaptive, secure, mission-ready communications they can trust.

Thales’ SurfSAT–L system, selected for the German Navy’s F126 frigates, illustrates this approach. It delivers a very high-power tri-band (Ka mil, Ka civil, X) SatCom solution that enables simultaneous transmission on all three bands. The system connects to both MEO and GEO satellites – military and commercial – for optimal connectivity in demanding conditions.

No one system can do it all

Perhaps the most important lesson of all is that no one solution can do it all. No single terminal, radio or satellite can meet the demands of every mission. What’s needed is an integrated SatCom enterprise made up of best-in-class tools, terminals, techniques, and methodologies; secure by design, redundancy built in at every layer, with zero single points of failure.

The solution, then, is far greater than the sum of its parts, designed specifically to connect, protect and propel whole teams, from the core to the edge.

A clear vision – and a call to industry

As reaction to the SDR settles, the challenge ahead is becoming clearer. In the words of John Healey, Secretary of State for Defence, “We will give our Armed Forces the ability to act at speeds never seen before – connecting ships, aircraft, tanks and operators so they can share vital information instantly and strike further and faster.”

To meet that goal, we need smarter, interoperable systems over siloed kit; solutions developed alongside the customer, rather than designed to meet static, predefined requirements; and a hybrid SatCom enterprise built on the skill, intuition, and ingenuity of industry’s many moving, many expert, parts.

The time is now for engineers, suppliers and integrators to seize the opportunity. For comms to go the distance, and for UK MOD to get ahead, industry must get to work – harder, faster and more integrated, not only with each other, but within and between Front Line Commands.