UP Paper 1258 US-M-CDOWN
An Evaluation of MUOS Support to Legacy UHF Terminals
Wade,RobynThe MITRE Corporation
Mogor,RandyThe MITRE Corporation
Frain,StevePMA-209
Blaydoe,MarcPMA-209
The DoD Ultra-High Frequency (UHF) Follow-On (UFO) satellite constellation, which provides narrowband communications to many tactical users, is nearing the end of it’s design life and will soon be replaced by the next generation UHF SATCOM system, Mobile User Objective System (MUOS). The purpose of this paper is to investigate the degree to which the MUOS will be able to support legacy Ultra-High Frequency (UHF) users. We first provide an overview of the two satellite systems. We address the key operational and waveform differences that impact the legacy terminals. MUOS is specified to provide backwards compatibility for legacy terminals; however, the total number of channels available for such users will be significantly reduced. We also address the potential impact of MUOS launch delays on total UHF bandwidth available to legacy users. Finally, we identify several technical areas for further investigation and analyses.

Marc Blaydoe is a Systems Engineer at Naval Air Systems Command, in Patuxent River, Maryland, assisting and advising formulation of overall systems objectives, design, and policy and acquisition for Navy aviation tactical radios, tactical internet, intelligence tactical C4I and radio/terminal systems. He graduated with an Interdisciplinary Engineering Bachelor's Degree from Purdue University in 1978. A former Navy Surface Warfare Officer, Mr. Blaydoe has eighteen years experience as a civilian contractor and government engineer, working in a wide variety of joint military programs, including MILSTAR, Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS), Navy special operations, and combat identification. He was the Product manager for developing and acquiring JTRS waveform application software for 26 legacy radio systems and associated cryptographic equipment applications (CEAs). He also been associated with the Common Digital IFF Transponder Program (CXP), Navy EHF SATCOM Program (NESP) and the Submarine High Data Rate (HDR) Program. He spent a year in Saudi Arabia teaching Naval Tactics and Systems to the Royal Saudi Naval Forces Officer program.