Raytheon Demos “Satellite-less” Radio Transmission Device

CAMP PENDELTON, Calif., Feb. 12, 2007/Satnews Daily/ ― Raytheon Company (NYSE:RTN) has successfully demonstrated a transportable satellite communications terminal that transmits radio waves over the curvature of the Earth without using satellites.

Known as Troposcatter (TROPO), this terminal provides a viable alternative to traditional satellite communications. The TROPO terminal is a light-weight, low- power and rapidly deployable solution, according to Raytheon Network Centric Systems, which develops and produces mission solutions for networking, command and control and battlespace awareness.

TROPO is intended to counter enemy threats to satellite communications by offering a high-performance, cost- effective solution to these threats. The device was tested by the I Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton.

A spokesman of the I Marine Expeditionary Force said the ease of deployment and set up and the improved data rates with TROPO systems drastically reduced the support needed to carry out missions. The increased data throughput without relying on already stressed satellites was critical, and unlike satellite communications, TROPO systems provide cost-free access.

Raytheon established the TROPO communications link between its Dual-Mode, All-Band Re-locatable Tactical Terminal, or DART-T, and a modified Joint Network Node satellite transportable terminal.

The demonstration showed that the widely fielded JNN terminal could be adapted to include a high-bandwidth troposcatter mode, which not only minimizes the current limitation of existing satellite bandwidth, but also provides continuous and reliable communications in areas of the world that do not have access to satcom.

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