ST Engineering iDirect and Black Cat Systems to expand their partnership to establish an Advanced satellite communications (SATCOM) Technology Demonstration Lab.
“Our expanded partnership with Black Cat Systems underscores our commitment to delivering cutting-edge satcom solutions to the Australian Defence Force,” Asia Regional Vice President, ST Engineering iDirect, Terry Bleakley, said.
“The 450SDM, combined with our Evolution Defense platform, showcases our ability to meet the ADF’s critical communication needs with unmatched flexibility, reliability, security, and performance.”
Central to the demonstration lab is ST Engineering iDirect’s 450 Software Defined Modem (SDM), featuring multi-waveform, multi-orbit capabilities and CSIR interference mitigation technology.
“Black Cat Systems has been a trusted Australian provider of satcom solutions and services for the ADF for 18 years, and is investing to strengthen the sovereign industrial base through lab systems, advanced training, and local support to ensure a strong secure supply chain, seamless integration, operational excellence and 100% mission focus,” Managing Director, Black Cat Systems, Keith Rosario, stated.
Black Cat Systems has procured additional Evolution Defense hubs and 9-Series modems and will showcase the newly introduced 450SDM. Purpose-built for mission-critical communications, the 450SDM can support multiple orbits—including HEO, GEO, MEO, and LEO—and a variety of waveforms on a single platform.
With a 30 per cent reduction in size, weight, and power (SWaP) compared to its earlier modem models, the 450SDM is optimised for both fixed and mobile environments. According to Black Cat Systems, it has high data rates, advanced mobility, and security features that include TRANSEC and FIPS 140-3 Level 3 compliance.
The 450SDM has been paired with the iDirect Evolution Defense 4.6 platform. It has features such as flexible key exchange and real-time CSIR interference removal. The 450SDM introduces advanced capabilities that will hopefully be further enhanced in the future by the dual Tx/Rx SDM.