Potential uses of the military Ka-band for wideband MILSATCOM systems

Since the designation in the 1970s of a military satellite communications Ka-band (30-31 GHz uplink, 20.2-21.2 GHz downlink), these frequencies have held great potential to support US forces and requirements. In 1995, the Ka-band was chosen for the Global Broadcast Service (GBS) which will be operational on the UFO satellites beginning in 1998. However, only a small percentage of the allocated 1 GHz of bandwidth will be used by GBS. During the MILSATCOM architecture reviews, the Ka-band was again considered for the Advanced Wideband System (AWS) and the Gapfiller satellites. This paper discusses the potential uses of the Ka-band for the AWS and Gapfiller satellites. Included is a technical discussion of the potential applications for both tactical and fixed infrastructure requirements in the 2005-to-2010 timeframe.