Viasat Inc., a global communications company, today announced its Commercial Broadband Modem (CBM)-400 became the first-ever software-defined modem to successfully complete the Army Forces Strategic Command (ARSTRAT) certification process. By successfully completing the certification process, the Viasat CBM-400 modem is now the only software-defined modem authorized to operate on the Wideband Global Satellite (WGS) communications network, which will significantly enhance air, land and sea performance capabilities while reducing overall satellite communications (SATCOM) costs for U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) customers.
The Viasat CBM-400 combines the power of high-speed connectivity with the flexibility to switch over to new satellite networks in near real-time in order to meet the needs of nearly any mission and application. The CBM-400 delivers satellite broadband performance whether at-the-halt or on-the-move. With the CBM-400, ground vehicles, sea vessels and aircraft will have the ability to securely send and receive high-definition video, voice and cloud-based networking data from nearly anywhere across the battlespace.
“Successful completion of the ARSTRAT certification process validates the proactive business approach and forward leaning capabilities of the only U.S. Government-validated software-defined modem,” said Ken Peterman, president, Government Systems, Viasat. “With our CBM-400, DoD customers now have access to the significant advantages and flexibility of a software-defined architecture, which will allow customers to rapidly meet evolving communications needs and emerging mission requirements by utilizing modems and terminals that readily and affordably adapt to embrace new waveforms and satellite networks.”
The CBM-400 currently supports three waveforms heavily fielded throughout the DoD including the LinkWay waveform, the Enhanced Bandwidth Efficient Modem (EBEM) waveform and the ArcLight waveform. The software-defined nature of the CBM-400 also allows operators to easily switch between waveforms to meet the unique demands of each mission. The CBM-400 running the LinkWay, EBEM, or ArcLight waveform have all been certified by ARSTRAT for operation on the WGS constellation. The software-defined architecture enables the CBM-400 to readily embrace innovation due to its ability to keep pace with rapidly accelerating private sector SATCOM technology trajectories.
Importantly, the Viasat CBM-400 is purposefully designed to fit into Viasat’s Hybrid Adaptive Network (HAN) architecture concept, which would allow users to seamlessly operate across both commercial and government purpose-built SATCOM networks, such as WGS. The HAN concept creates an end-to-end network that provides mitigation against congestion situations, intentional and unintentional interference sources and cyber threats through implementation of layered resiliency in highly-contested environments. Terminal equipment like the CBM-400 supports the HAN architecture concept by readily and affordably adapting to operate over new, innovative SATCOM networks as they become available.
The Viasat CBM-400 is available for purchase and use across all branches of the U.S. DoD. The modem’s hardware platform comes in both a standard 19-inch 1RU rackmount version and a ruggedized, sealed enclosure, outdoor variant. Both CBM-400 variants are certified for operation on the WGS constellation.
More information about Viasat’s ground SATCOM solutions can be found here.