Defence wants to know if a space SDN will fly

Defence is asking the satcom sector to offer solutions for a software-defined network (SDN) in space.

In a request for information, Defence said it wants a “converged network in space, drawing on multiple security domains to disseminate Defence data” that is “scalable, rapidly deployable and reconstitutable”.

The department said it wants the network - which it is calling the data transport and relay network or DTRN - to be able to carry traffic from a number of existing networks.

“Individual and stove-piped requirements are leading Defence to procure multiple data sharing solutions with different and often incompatible interface requirements," it said.

Defence also wants the DTRN to be “resilient and securely and rapidly receive and transmit multiple digital data types through an open systems architecture that concurrently transmits between satellite and ground assets using commercial military frequencies.”

Other possible applications for the DTRN could be tracking high-velocity projectiles, as well as infrared and other imagery.

Most of the communications the DTRN will carry will be satellite-to-satellite, or as the RFI stated, “primarily space-based technology, with the exception of support infrastructure and networks”.

The suggested solution would need compatibility with existing Defence ground stations, but could also use commercial stations as “secondary downlink sites”, and needs to support communications between “deployed assets at any global position”.