Secure Network Connectivity Slices Over Commercial SATCOM

The DoD and SPACECOM are on-ramping commercial SATCOM technologies and business practices to increase communications resiliency and create alternatives to MILSATCOM. According to Northern Sky Research, a telecom industry research firm, the US militaryÆs SATCOM requirements will grow by 68 percent in the next decade due to the reallocation of US forces toward the Asia-Pacific theater [1]. However, the use of commercial SATCOM introduces COMSEC/TRANSEC risks that need mitigation since the 5G NTN waveform does not provide anti-jamming or electronic protect (EP) capabilities. In this Phase I effort, Tiami, LLC, aims to design a secure connectivity solution that leverages commercial satellite communications (SATCOM) to deliver two-way data and voice connectivity anywhere in the Pacific Theater. Specifically, In Phase I we will demonstrate a proof-of-concept solution that creates secure, Army-specific network æslicesÆ over a commercial fifth generation (5G) non-terrestrial network (NTN) with a COTS 5G smartphone (e.g., Samsung Galaxy S20 with Commercial Solutions for Classified Program encryption) as the end user device. In Phase II we will deliver a TRL-6 prototype that establishes a secure network slice over an emulated SATCOM link to a commercial 5G device.