Afghanistan's terrain - vast expanses of rough mountains and valleys - have posed many challenges for allied forces in recent years. And one of the most critical has been how it affects communication links. Often, the mountains simply render conventional HF or V/UHF radio links useless by blocking the signals.
Feedback from the theatre of operations confirmed this – there was a risk that radio 'dead spots' could leave vehicles and units badly exposed: unable to communicate with each other, and potentially cut off from backup or rescue sources.
In 2009, this triggered a 'UOR' - Urgent Operational Request' - to Thales from the French Ministry of Defense: develop and deploy a communication link that stays connected and reliable all the time, over long distances, no matter what. As soon as possible.
The solution was to try and develop a communication link built into the armoured vehicles that would use satellites to relay the connection. This would mean that the signal was always clear and secure no matter that the terrain - even while the vehicle was moving at speed.
'Satcom On-The-Move' has been the elusive goal of Thales and a number of research partners for several years. (Thales had been performing self-funded studies since 2004, and the French administration had commissioned studies in 2008.) But the UOR added impetus and urgency to the development.
Thales brought together its expertise from a number of fields, including large-scale military satellite systems such as Syracuse, Sicral and Yahsat, its extensive experience deploying secure 'anti-jam' communications systems to ISAF forces, as well as its knowledge of 'AESAs' (Active Electronically Scanned Antennas).
One of the biggest challenges when dealing with armoured vehicles moving over rough terrain was simply how to keep the transmitter terminal stable and unwaveringly fixed on the satellite as the vehicle moved.
The successful solution ultimately used a mechanical/electronic hybrid beam-steering technology gimbal working in harmony with each other to stay locked on to the satellite's position whatever the terrain.
After 10 months, Thales had cracked it. The result was VENUS - 'Satcom On-The-Move. 10 units were deployed in Afghanistan, where they helped 'lift the fog of war', keeping soldiers safe and connected.
VENUS went on to be used in other conflicts by French forces (such as Iraq, Central Africa, and Mali) and became essential in operational missions.
And now, less than a decade later, Thales is proud to be deploying the next generation of 'Satcom On-The-Move' units (a batch of 20 units has been re-ordered in 2016). Thanks to advances in satellite technology, and with the benefit of extensive feedback from the operational use of the original VENUS units, the new VENUS communications links are even more powerful. They have a range of several thousands of km – so soldiers in the field can be connected directly to strategic headquarters in a home country - and they are also capable of operating as 'communication network nodes': a single VENUS unit can act as a 'hub', enabling allies operating nearby to link and aggregate their comms through the Satcom unit.