L-3 Communications, working as a key member of the General Dynamics-led Win-T Program team, participated in tests conducted at Fort Huachuca, Arizona last November. The WIN-T Developmental Testing/Operational Testing (DT/OT) demonstration included evaluation of the following L-3 Communications products:

- A 0.45m Ku-Band Communications On-The-Move (COTM) antenna system (model FSS-4180) for On-The-Move (OTM) communications. This system supports two-way satellite communications on a vehicle traveling at up to 40 mph over very rough terrain; - The Ka-Band Satellite Augmentation Terminal (KaSAT), employing the U.S. Army's WIN-T/L-3 Network Centric Waveform, as well as the L-3 0.9m Ka-band antenna; and - An MPM-1000 IP Modem, also utilizing the WIN-T/L-3 Network Centric Waveform.

"The demanding tests conducted at Fort Huachuca's Electronic Proving Ground represent a significant milestone in the U.S. Army's successful demonstrations of network centric modem and antenna products," said Frank Lanza, chairman and chief executive officer of L-3 Communications. "Our jointly- developed, state-of-the-art products are small, lightweight, low-power consuming, and deliver effective On-The-Move capability to America's warfighters."

Soldiers of the U.S. Army's 11th Signal Brigade operated the equipment after a two-week training course. The U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command's Signal Center oversaw the actual demonstration and the U.S. Army's Test and Evaluation Command led the information assurance portion of the trials. That phase included L-3's COTM FSS-4180 antenna system mounted on the U.S. Army's Point Of Presence - Current (PoP-C) vehicle. L-3's Ka-band antenna was mounted on the Tactical Communications Node - Enhanced (TCN-E) and the Ka-band antenna and MPM-1000 Network Centric Protocol Modems were used on multiple deployed WIN-T vehicles.

"Throughout the trials, systems that were jointly developed by the U.S. Army and L-3 Communications provided virtually flawless performance in real world conditions," said John Mega, president and chief operating officer of the L-3 Microwave Group. Testing included live and simulated communications traffic, involving high-speed, broadband voice, video and data transmissions in both OTM and At-The-Halt mission profiles. The network centric modems proved capable of full-mesh IP connectivity over Ka and Ku satellite links.

"L-3 is a critical member of the industry team lead by General Dynamics," said Colonel Angel Colon, WIN-T Project Manager, U.S. Army. "They are the leaders in development of the Network Centric Waveform, which will increase our ability to move from a few Commanders communicating on the move to formations communicating on the move. They are also instrumental in the design of ever smaller SATCOM antennas, which will be used by WIN-T and other U.S. Army programs."

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