KMI-Aware Mesh Network NSA-Certifiable Cryptographic Solution

Hypersonic weapons are a clear and present danger to our country. To defend against these high-speed weapons, the sensor-to-shooter chain must move sensor data securely without time delays. For incoming hypersonic and ballistic threats, the Space Development Agency (SDA) must transfer large quantities of targeting data in real-time across a mesh network of satellite crosslinks, and back-and-forth with the ground, while being resilient to sophisticated cyber-attacks. This stream of assured data allows Warfighters to track, target, and intercept the incoming hypersonics. SDA intends to build an Optical Intersatellite Link (OISL) network in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) to enable this high-speed transfer of data, but the OISL has technology gaps that require innovation. Specifically, OISL needs a flexible and autonomous encryptor, which is interoperable with cost-efficient off-the-shelf terrestrial network encryptors. There are no High Assurance Internet Protocol Encryptor (HAIPE) encryptors, however, currently meeting SDA’s Network Established Beyond the Upper Limits of the Atmosphere (NEBULA) Standard that operate at this rate, either on the ground or in space. Our team’s innovative solution, developed in Phase I and described below, bridges this gap for SDA.