U.S.-based antenna manufacturer ThinKom Solutions has secured a follow-on contract from the Department of Defense worth a combined $3.9 million to supply portable satellite ground stations for military use, the company said.
The transportable systems are intended to provide high-speed, resilient communications in environments where fixed infrastructure is unavailable, enabling troops to establish connectivity rapidly in remote or contested locations.
The ground stations are built around ThinKom’s VICTS steerable mechanical phased-array antenna technology, which allows tracking of satellites across multiple orbital regimes. The systems incorporate several receiving antennas linked to a digital beamformer to enhance performance and maintain stable communications.
According to the company, the equipment can operate with antennas positioned in virtually any orientation and can be configured using a single module or expanded with up to eight additional modules at the tactical edge. This modular approach is designed to accelerate deployment and reduce the need for assembling traditional parabolic dishes in the field.
ThinKom officials said the technology supports tracking of non-geostationary orbit satellites as well as communications-on-the-move capability, allowing connectivity to be maintained while users are in transit.
The systems are housed in ruggedized cases tailored for harsh operational environments and can track satellites in low, medium, or geostationary orbit, the company added.
Defense agencies are increasingly investing in portable and resilient communications systems to ensure reliable connectivity across distributed operations, particularly as satellite constellations expand and reliance on space-based communications grows.
