A satellite technology company with skin in the game for decades has secured a multi-million-dollar contract to supply the U.S. Army with transportable SATCOM terminals over the next two years.
The importance of SATCOM, or satellite communication, has expanded in the digital age where more antiquated military strategies have lesser impact in a world full of drones, encryption and high-powered arsenals. As national military forces look to stay up-to-date with their technology, they partner with various industry leaders to get the biggest bang for their buck.
On Sept. 30 it was announced that Gilat DataPath—a subsidiary of Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd.—received orders of more than $7 million to provide additional transportable SATCOM terminals to the U.S. Army through a prime contractor, with orders including multiple units of the DKET (Deployable Kit Earth Terminal) 3421 along with associated support services. Deliveries are scheduled for completion before the end of 2025.
Military.com reached out to the U.S. Army for comment.
DKET refers to the portable satellite communication terminals used by military and commercial organizations to provide high-speed voice, data and video in remote locations.
“We’ve got a number of different direct and indirect vehicles, direct meaning direct contracts with our U.S. government customers as well as our allied customers,” Gilat DataPath President Nicole Robinson told Military.com. “The majority of our business is on the U.S. side, but we do serve those who are NATO allies, those with whom we have mutual defense agreements. We’re very proud to support that community as well.”
That breaks down to roughly 75% U.S.-based contracts, which include all branches of service plus federal civilian. About 25% on the international side consists of “a very heavy presence in Europe” as well as work with allies in the Asia Pacific arena.
Forging Connections
The DKET 3421 is described as a combat-proven, rugged terminal designed to meet the most demanding mission requirements. It features multi-carrier capability and a scalable modem architecture of up to 32 modems, enabling resilient connectivity for forward-deployed forces.
The Ku band is an RF, commercial frequency typically operating via geostationary satellites located about 33,000 miles off the Earth’s surface. More recently, according to Robinson, there’s been lower Earth orbiting constellations that have been deployed. The DKET system can do what’s called tri-band, or Ku/Ka/X-band, found in both commercial and military owned-and-operated satellite constellations.
The specific DKET 3421 model refers to a satellite terminal with a 4.2-meter dish that sits on the hub and receives the satellite signal, which is then able to be transmitted and received.
“These systems are typically designed for a larger size unit of soldiers, so a brigade size,” Robinson said. “It’s if you imagine something much smaller like a man pack that’s for individual communications, they’re setting up a satellite link and be able to have access with our DKET systems—such as the ones that were sold in this particular order.
“This is to power an entire brigade with connectivity when they deploy to an area where there isn’t fiber, there isn’t cellular, there isn’t other means of connectivity.”
There’s also “a degree of resiliency” in this model, she added, referencing how its multiple bands can leverage different frequencies or satellite constellations should for whatever reason there is difficulty establishing a connection.
Recent Wars Have Upped the Ante
Gilat DataPath will celebrate 30 years in business in 2026. Major changes in the SATCOM sphere and beyond have occurred in recent years, Robinson noted.
Things “changed entirely” within the last three years, she said, particularly due to the ongoing conflict conflict in Eastern Europe after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Satellite communications remain integral but satellite intelligence and imagery has really become an emerging need.
She said it’s related to the proliferation of drones. While they are now ubiquitous in military and commercial use, these “bandwidth-hungry platforms” as she described were aimed to keep boots out of harm’s way and put proverbial eyes in the sky.
“[You have] access to intelligence so that if you are alerting innocent individuals to evacuate to safety, having that situational awareness and that intelligence of what’s going on on the ground is critical. It’s everything,” she said.
“I think those early days in the conflict, in the war in eastern Ukraine, the geospatial intelligence was the game to be able to say there are 10 tanks in this location; there’s a vessel detection in this part of the Black Sea—a number of different areas where geospatial intelligence has really flexed in the last three years in ways we’ve never seen it before. It is a game for modern warfare, for sure, having that understanding of what’s going on over the horizon, how to prepare, how to protect.”
It’s also much different than, say, 15 years ago when large satellites that stay fixed in orbit pointed down with a fixed beam. Today, higher-powered beams at lower Earth orbit provide more throughput, more capability, and mobility aspects as well because constellations like Starlink and Project Kuiper are always moving.
“Having transportable terminals that are capable of receipt of both satellite communications downlink and geospatial intelligence, that cracks the code,” Robinson said. “That is really bringing together those two different modalities at the space segment down on the ground.
“It’s a space I’m really excited about because I think it really arms our allies and our U.S. forces with the kind of situational awareness and intelligence they need to be successful at protecting lives, at fighting for democracy, and doing all the wonderful things that we need them to be doing. We’re really excited to be there.”
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