DSTO helps deliver enhanced satellite capability

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News Item

Date:

13 October, 2009

Media Release Number:

084/09

The Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) has helped deliver enhanced capability and extra capacity for Australia\'s satellite defence communications system, the Minister for Defence Personnel, Materiel and Science, Greg Combet said today.

Greg Combet meets with Deputy Chief Defence Scientist Dr Warren Harch to discuss new military satellite communications capability at DSTO Edinburgh

The Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) has helped deliver enhanced capability and extra capacity for Australia's satellite defence communications system, the Minister for Defence Personnel, Materiel and Science, Greg Combet said today.
Mr Combet was briefed on the new military satellite communications capability (MILSATCOM) during a visit to DSTO's Edinburgh laboratories in South Australia. 
"DSTO plays an essential role within our capability acquisition process. This includes providing expert advice on the scientific and technical risks and aspects of projects," said Mr Combet.
"For this project, the United States was seeking to jointly acquire with the ADF an additional satellite in the Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) constellation. The scientific support provided by DSTO in acquiring this capability helped inform the ADF's participation in this project.
"The DSTO study, conducted as part of the acquisition process, was pivotal in adding scientific rigour to ADF negotiations for the acquisition of this new capability.
"The DSTO Study helped us achieve an ability to scale up our bandwidth requirements in coming years, an extra two years of capability life and extra satellite capacity. All of these improvements have also meant that there is potential for Defence to make significant savings.
"The new satellite capability will have benefits for the ADF for the next twenty to thirty years with access to the WGS network.
"DSTO's involvement in the acquisition of this satellite capability demonstrates the invaluable work they do in ensuring that the ADF receives the very best capability, at the best price and lowest risk," Mr Combet said.
Mr Combet also received briefings on a range of other DSTO research programs supporting the ADF, including future submarine technologies.

Media Contact:
Rod Hilton (Greg Combet): (02) 6277 7620 or 0458 276 619
Stephen Butler (DSTO):                   (08) 8259 6923 or 0418 800 323
Defence Public Affairs:                    (02) 6127 1999 or 0408 498 664

The Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) is part of Australia's Department of Defence. DSTO's role is to ensure the expert, impartial and innovative application of science and technology to the defence of Australia and its national interests.

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