Northrop Grumman, ViaSat and Optus Team on WGS for Australia

From left to right: Stephen Jewell, business development manager at Optus Satellite; Stu Blackwell, manager, communications programs at Northrop Grumman Australia; and Colin Cooper, general Manager, Government and Defense at ViaSat Australia. Photo: Northrop Grumman.

[Via Satellite 09-01-2015] Northrop Grumman together with ViaSat and Optus are responding to a tender from the Australian Defence Force (ADF) with a means for Australia to gain access to Northrop Grumman’s Satellite Communications Operations and Planning Element (SCOPE) network management system for the Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) system. SCOPE is a managing, operating and monitoring system that has already been successfully integrated with the WGS, and U.S. Army Strategy Command has used it for more than 15 years.

The solution includes dual-band satellite terminals from ViaSat, which recently delivered 10 complete ground stations for Australia’s National Broadband Network (NBN) program, as well as satellite operating experience from Optus, which has a managed service contract with ADF recently extended to 2020.

“Australia has invested approximately AU$1billion ($70 million) in WGS communications capabilities. Northrop Grumman’s offering will give Australia the ability to fully utilize this capability at the same standard as the U.S. military,” said Ian Irving, chief executive at Northrop Grumman Australia.