Atheras Analytics will provide Ka-Band propagation analysis to enable the U.K. Ministry of Defence (MoD) to determine the location of new Ka-Band ground infrastructure to support the upcoming SKYNET 6 secure military satellite network.

SKYNET is the MoD’s satellite communications (SATCOM) capability and is a family of military communications satellites which will provide strategic communication services to the U.K. Armed Forces and allies. The SKYNET 6 Programme is exploiting technological advances to deliver the next generation of military communication satellites to the MoD.

Atheras Analytics’ design software will be utilised to conduct analysis of propagation conditions for existing ground station sites. As the Ka-Band is highly sensitive to rain attenuation, the analysis will build an accurate picture of the depth of rain fade to be expected at these sites. Once gathered, analysis of rain fade events will enable the MoD to determine its ability to provide continuous operations in the event of a significant rain fade event.

Atheras Analytics’ Design Tool applies a proprietary AI-based Outage Prediction Algorithm (OPA) to historic rainfall measurements for specific gateway locations to determine the historic satellite link availability for those locations. The application of the OPA to the locations in question will enable Atheras Analytics to analyse each candidate site for historic link availability, determine weather correlations between the sites and determine the overall network availability. This information will then be used to optimise the ground network design to maximise network and service availability.

Barry Austin, SATCOM Programme Manager, Defence Digital, U.K. Strategic Command, said, “The SKYNET 6 network will provide next generation connectivity services to our armed forces and therefore must meet the most stringent requirements in terms of availability and robustness. We require the high frequency and performance of Ka-Band to meet the many and varied applications of our users, but we realise that Ka-Band can be susceptible to weather attenuation. Working with Atheras Analytics, we will be able to ensure that the location of our ground infrastructure is optimal and will ensure the continuous and reliable performance of the SKYNET 6 network at all times.”

John Yates, managing director of Atheras Analytics, added, “The use of high throughput networks is essential to the U.K. MoD to support the high bandwidth applications that our armed forces are so reliant on today. We are very proud to have been selected to help enable such a critical element of the design process for SKYNET 6. This is true testament to the effectiveness of our innovative software tools, and we look forward to providing the analysis that will determine the most effective ground station locations for such a vital network.”