Two New Nations Join Program to Provide SATCOM Support to NATO

Starting in the upcoming year, Spain and Luxembourg will be part of a group of four NATO countries offering satellite communication services to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. This project originally started in 2020.

In the beginning of this month, the heads of the monitoring organizations in the six nations gathered near Washington, D.C., to examine the satellite services offered by the project known as NATO SATCOM Services 6th Generation, or NSS6G. At the meeting, they also evaluated how well the services are currently working and discussed any difficulties that are still present.

In these meetings, NATO's Communications and Information Agency officials and representatives from six countries reached a consensus on the revised version of the agreement that outlines how satellite communication services are delivered to NATO.

The suggested change aims to allow Luxembourg and Spain to become part of the group of countries providing military satellite communications to NATO, alongside the U.S., France, Italy, and the U.K.

In 2005, NATO stopped getting and using its own satellites, which were built based on designs from the 1970s. Instead, NATO decided to rely on France, Italy, and the U.K. to supply satellite communications to NATO forces during operations. In 2020, the U.S. also became part of the team.

According to the agreement, the United States offers assistance with its EHF transport service for NATO nuclear command and control, as well as SHF capacity from its Wideband Global Satellite Communications System.

France, the United Kingdom, and Italy offer SHF and UHF space through their Syracuse, Skynet, and Sicral fleets. Spain and Luxembourg will also contribute SHF and UHF space through their Spainsat Next Generation and GovSat satellite fleets. Together, approximately twelve military satellites will enhance NATO's capabilities.

"These are protected to different degrees," explained Brian Hughes, the leader of the international affairs office for the U.S. Space Systems Command. "These military satellite communications have built-in defenses against nuclear effects and jamming, which most commercial services lack."

Hughes mentioned that NATO receives satellite communication services through a combination of "allocate and commit" and managed services.

"Provide and dedicate is how NATO receives the capacity they require, and they are able to use it as necessary," according to Hughes. "Additionally, we offer a controlled access service which allows NATO to request the capacity they need at certain times, and our team of national providers will handle the service.

The capability of NSSG6 won't be used by individual NATO countries, but instead by NATO headquarters during authorized operations.

"NATO has specific needs as an organization because it oversees headquarters operations, whether they are stationary or mobile," Hughes explained. "Having SATCOM [satellite communications] is crucial as NATO relies on it for command and control functions, which are essential."

According to Nusret Yilmaz, who oversees the SATCOM business unit at the NATO Communications and Information Agency, the NSS6G consortium offers satellite capabilities while NATO supplies the necessary tools for its forces on the field.

Yilmaz explained that NATO is in possession of all the equipment used on the ground. This includes things like tactical radios, communication terminals for deployed operations, and communication systems of different sizes that can be transported and set up. NATO is responsible for operating and maintaining these ground systems as they are considered part of NATO's own capabilities. However, when it comes to the space segment, NATO does not have any capabilities of its own.

NATO decided to stop using its own space assets to save money and to be able to use the newer space systems that its ally countries were developing.

Adding Spain and Luxembourg to NSSG6 will make our satellite communications ability stronger.

Yilmaz mentioned that because there are many nations involved, there is a certain level of resilience in the space industry. There has been a significant rise in the need for satellite communications, so NATO has implemented multiple projects to meet this demand. With this MOU and amendment, NATO is ensuring that the extra capacity in the space sector is being appropriately addressed.

In this month's conference, Mike Dean, who is the top official in charge of satellite communications for the Defense Department, acted as the leader. He expressed that the NSS6G project has been a successful demonstration of teamwork and cooperation among the four countries involved in providing satellite services to NATO. The involvement of two new partners will further strengthen this collaboration.

"We are excited to further strengthen our partnerships with Luxembourg and Spain, as we continue to collaborate with our international allies," he stated.

Dean also shared his thoughts on how the DOD could benefit from U.S. involvement.

"We get paid for the services we offer to NATO," he clarified. "With that money, we can collaborate with the U.S. Space Command and other services to support projects that will improve satellite communications services for our military personnel. This shows how a small investment can have a big impact on our capabilities."

NSS6G is starting a 10-year operational phase, which will last until the end of 2034.