Building Resilient Communications In an Era of Satellite Warfare

The Pentagon’s disclosure that Russia has launched a space weapon that could knock out critical national security satellites is the latest example of why the United States and its allies need to diversify communications capabilities. On top of that, there are new reports that Russia is disrupting commercial satellites heavily used by the Ukrainian military.

For years, the Pentagon has been touting a massive expansion of low-Earth orbit satellites, essentially building back-ups to existing constellations that have orbited the Earth uncontested for decades. With these satellites now at risk from attack, the military can no longer solely rely on these capabilities in the event of near-peer conflict. 

Satellites remain a critical tool for military and intelligence operations, but the clear threat presented by our adversaries highlights the criticality of diversifying long-range beyond the line-of-sight capabilities. This need is a core reason why goTenna launched our SkyWave™ solution, a capability that offers secure and reliable communications for beyond line-of-site (BLoS) mesh network deployments. It enables the direct integration between existing high-frequency radios employing ALE links (HF-ALE) and local goTenna networks. High Frequency (HF) radio – a proven technology dating back to 1923 and finding key operational relevance during World War II - enables operators to bounce messages off the Earth’s ionosphere, enabling communications over hundreds to thousands of miles. 

Combined with a local goTenna network, operators – whether military operators in a contested environment or disaster response teams – can rapidly build global networks requiring zero external infrastructure. The lack of reliance on external cellular and satellite networks also makes this solution free of recurring operational costs. 

Another significant operational benefit of this capability is its adaptability and flexibility. It has comparatively lower energy and lower visibility on the electromagnetic spectrum than satellite solutions and conventional radio solutions. This enables an additional layer of operational security when constructing SkyWave-powered networks. Although this capability does not require external infrastructure, goTenna users can optionally integrate this along with existing cellular, radio, or satellite connectivity for additional mission flexibility and redundancy through layered capabilities.

It is clear that other nations are investing and deploying capabilities that can threaten terrestrial cellular and satellite infrastructure. goTenna and our partners are responding to this threat by deploying new capabilities to harden the U.S. and our ally's communications networks. This capability – requiring no external infrastructure and operating with low visibility on the spectrum – is ideal for conducting a contested mission or rendering humanitarian aid in an austere environment. 

Russia’s launch of an anti-satellite weapon shows it’s preparing for a worst-case scenario. The U.S. and our allies must be prepared to out-pace these evolutions in conflict.