Indra is developing a satellite communications (SATCOM) system to enable long-range drones to operate as true systems of systems, with the technology enabling the operator to pilot the remote aircraft from a base thousands of kilometers away.
Indra’s new SATCOM will facilitate real-time data exchanging to support missions, offering bandwidths of up to 20 megabits per second.
This functionality is critical for a generation of unmanned aircraft that will need to transmit a high volume of information to long-distance command centers operating within the future combat clouds, along with multiple land, naval and air platforms.
The terminal will operate on both civilian and military communications bands (Ku and Ka bands), offering armies maximum flexibility to take advantage of the capabilities of the satellites available to each user in each region. The system will have a robust protection mode to resist any kind of interference. It will also eliminate the keyhole effect, which can make it difficult to connect with geostationary satellites in areas close to the equator.
Indra’s system will be one of the few that will be designed from the outset to obtain DAL-D (Design Assurance Level-D) security certification, which is essential in order to remotely control large military drones safely. The new terminal will be perfectly suited to medium or large unmanned platforms, such as the future EuroDrone currently being developed by Germany, Spain, France and Italy.
