Space Force says new anti-jamming upgrade coming in 2022

WASHINGTON — The Space and Missile Systems Center completed three virtual tests of a new anti-jamming capability for satellite communications in the final months of 2020, the center announced Feb. 17.

The mitigation and anti-jam enhancement program will provide advanced anti-jamming support for Wideband Global SATCOM, which provides satellite communications to American war fighters around the world. Once operational, the capability will allow the WGS constellation to pinpoint and mitigate attempts to jam its signal.

“The MAJE system will double the anti-jam capabilities for 16,000+ users,” Maj. Shawna Matthys, WGS-11+ program manager, said in a statement.

The system will provide software and hardware upgrades to the Army’s Global SATCOM Configuration Control Element, the ground system used to detect, identify, locate and mitigate interference with WGS satellites.

The three tests — conducted virtually with support from prime contractor Boeing over 18 days — “verified system design and MAJE’s ability to provide telemetry and successfully locate signals interfering with WGS satellites,” SMC said.

The three tests conducted were the maintenance engineering evaluation, the payload application software formal qualification testing, and first article test (FAT) increment 4. The last in that list is the test that demonstrated the system’s ability to geolocate signals interfering with WGS. A fifth and final increment will complete multicapability and end-to-end testing, clearing the way for the system to begin interface verification with Army subsystems.

“The teamwork and transparency between Boeing and the combined government teams to get these capabilities verified in a virtual environment was truly impressive. It shows how dedicated we are to getting these capabilities out to the war fighter despite an ongoing pandemic,” WGS Chief Engineer Steve Hayden said in a statement.

SMC expects to complete the transition of the anti-jamming system to the Army for operational use in spring 2022.

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