Protected Tactical Enterprise Service (PTES)

Abstract

New Project 643733 was created starting in FY 2024 for Protected Tactical Waveform (PTW) Over Commercial to develop an anti-jam (AJ) communications capability via PTW Over Commercial constellations for tactical users in all Services and International Partners (IP). This is a continuation of efforts that began in the Protected Tactical Enterprise Service (PTES) Project 643726 to enable multi-domain operations for tactical warfighters in congested and contested environments using various orbits. The global threat of electronic warfare attacks against space systems will expand in the coming years in both number and types of weapons. Threat development will very likely focus on jamming capabilities against dedicated military satellite communications (MILSATCOM). To address this critical threat, and in pursuit of more precise solutions for disaggregated strategic and tactical SATCOM, U.S Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) and Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) initiated the Protected Anti-jam Tactical SATCOM (PATS) family-of-systems incremental approach, including PTES and Protected Tactical SATCOM (PTS), to mitigate adversarial jamming effects by using the PTW. The United States Space Force (USSF) is developing PTES to establish the foundational ground system that will enable PTW-based protected communications of PATS. PTES is a software intensive program needed to achieve the PATS architecture by developing the critical ground infrastructure to operationalize the PTW via military and commercial satellite systems for tactical users in all Services. As part of the PATS integrated, incremental approach, PTES ground system development will initially enable PTW over the Wideband Global Satellite Communications (WGS) system to provide an operational AJ communications capability. PTES will extend PATS development to provide PTW service using commercial satellites in various orbits and purpose-built PTS system with onboard PTW processing. The ability to securely access both military and commercial capabilities in multiple orbits will provide tactical warfighters alternate protected SATCOM paths for greater network resiliency. The PTES program is developing a Mission Management System (MMS), a Key Management System (KMS), and Joint Hub Variants (JHs) to enable PTW via transponded WGS satellites, and to commercial SATCOM with JH Variants (JHVs). The systems will be extensible to support commercial and military SATCOM systems in the future. The user equipment will consist of existing wideband terminals with upgraded PTW modems. Production-representative PTW modems for user terminals were developed by the Protected Tactical Service Field Demonstration (PTSFD) and separately acquired by each Service and by IPs. The Navy Wideband Anti-Jam Modem System (WAMS), the Air Force-Army Anti-Jam Modem (A3M), and other stakeholders rely on PTES to provide PTW ground infrastructure. A3M provides the Air Force and Army with a secure, wideband, AJ SATCOM terminal modem for tactical SATCOM operations. The WAMS modem is the Navy's next generation software-defined wideband modem for both transponded and processed satellite. The user terminal segment, not included in this acquisition, utilizing low-cost PTW modem upgrades enabled by the A3M and WAMS programs are designed to become an integral part of the growing PATS enterprise. The PTES Prototype Development was designated as a Rapid Prototype (RP) in June 2018 from the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2016 (Public Law 114-92) under Middle Tier of Acquisitions (MTA) for Rapid Prototyping/Rapid Fielding (Section 804) to operationalize the PTW intially with WGS. A new Project, 643733 PTW Over Commercial, was created in this Program Element in FY 2024 to segregate funding allocated to develop the capability to deliver PTW to the warfighter by leveraging commercial satellites. This continues efforts begun in FY 2023 under Project 643726, PTES Prototype Development. To meet the warfighter requirements for protected tactical MILSATCOM and the capability gaps identified in these studies, RDT&E funding is required for architectural development, acquisition strategy development, system requirements and system trades analysis, and engineering, manufacturing, developing, testing and evaluating PTES and PATS systems and segments. For the PATS WGS capability, the PTES system addresses an operational need in the Pacific region by achieving Initial Operational Capability (IOC) in FY 2024. IOC provides ground elements for PTW over WGS and consists of PTES installation at two WGS DoD SATCOM Teleport sites utilizing one WGS satellite. At Full Operational Capability (FOC) in FY 2026, PTES will provide worldwide PTW operations using up to all WGS satellites. For the PTW Over Commercial, the PTES system will achieve IOC providing resilient commercial capacity and path diversity across ground elements for PTW over commercial architectures in CY 2026. PTES will reach FOC in CY 2028 providing robust PTW operations using commercial satellites in various orbits. The PTES team will execute additional studies and proof of concept demonstrations to inform commercial requirements and MMS, KMS development. Space acquisition must respond with speed and agility to pacing and emerging adversary threats. Space Systems Command (SSC) has transformed the organization and implementation of space acquisition to an enterprise approach, maximizing innovation and resiliency, leveraging international, commercial, and mission partnerships, and managing program/project priorities according to an integrated unclassified/classified enterprise space architecture. Expanding the appropriate acquisition authorities and contract mechanisms to deliver capability sooner, SSC will strategically execute experimentation, prototyping, risk reduction, and other efforts to develop new or repurpose existing capabilities. This program element may include necessary civilian pay expenses required to manage, execute, and deliver PTES weapon system capability. The use of such program funds would be in addition to the civilian pay expenses budgeted in program elements 1206392SF and 1206398SF. This effort is in Budget Activity 4, Advanced Component Development and Prototypes (ACD&P), because efforts are necessary to evaluate integrated technologies, representative modes or prototype systems in a high fidelity and realistic operating environment.

Document Details

• Document Type: R2 Budgetary Justification
• Publication Date: Oct 01, 2024
• Source ID: 1206760SF_4_3620F_PB_2024
• Change Summary Explanation: FY 2023: -9.918M Congressional mark FY 2023: -0.350M Congressional General Reduction FY 2024: -0.603M; to realign funding to APPN 3410, PE 1207804SF (SAG 13C), for fiscal policy compliance as Space Systems Command (SSC) establishes Headquarters functions and a Chief Information Office (CIO) for integrated cybersecurity. FY 2024: -15.000M; to realign resilient architecture funding to Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), APPN 3620, PE 1206458SF, Tech Transition (Space). FY 2024: +0.343M; inflation adjustment
• Service Agency Name: Air Force

Entities

Organizations

• United States Air Force

Tags

Communities of Interest

• Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

• Acquisition
• Agile Software Development
• Air Force
• Air Force Research Laboratories
• Artificial Satellites
• Geosynchronous Orbits
• National Security
• Procurement
• Product Development
• Software Development
• Software Prototyping
• Space Force
• Space Systems
• Systems Engineering
• Test And Evaluation
• United States Strategic Command
• Warfare

Readers

• Aerospace Engineering.

Technology Areas

• Microelectronics
• Space
• Space - Satellites