The contract, which follows a pilot programme, is to deliver satellite communications as a service (SaaMS) to the Marines.
Viasat Inc. has been awarded a contract to provide end-to-end satellite communications (SATCOM) support through a fully managed service to the United States Marine Corps (USMC). The contract is an extension following a pilot and follow-on service programme in the government’s FY22 through which Viasat delivered a fully managed SATCOM as a Managed Service (SaaMS) solution to the USMC I Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF), the Marine Corps’ largest warfighting organisation. This is the first commercially developed SaaMS implemented by a USMC command.
Under this fully managed SATCOM service, Viasat has provided I MEF with a resilient beyond-line-of-sight communications capability that is both scalable and rapidly deployable to meet contract and operational requirements. This commercially developed SaaMS capability has enabled I MEF to extend its command and control (C2) to the tactical edge, supporting Marine exercises, Marine Expeditionary Units and Stand in Force rotational deployments with on-demand satellite connectivity and data transport. The SaaMS is designed to provide greater flexibility to meet changing connectivity demands, support Multi-Domain Operations, and increase the safety of deployed forces through reliable and resilient communications.
Speaking about the contract, Craig Miller, president of Viasat Government Systems, said: “Viasat is very excited to continue its partnership with the Marine Corps and provide a fully managed SATCOM service that offers a dynamic and scalable solution to meet the demands of expeditionary forces. This is a modern SATCOM service that is designed to deliver the performance, flexibility and rapid deployment capability Marine expeditionary forces need supporting operational readiness and enabling the USMC to easily leverage surge capacity for specific mission needs. This SaaMS solution is a critical piece to achieving a decision advantage in a modern information and communications warfare environment.”
The fully managed SATCOM solution includes seamless roaming, always-on access across Viasat’s commercial high-capacity networks, offering the USMC a highly flexible service that can leverage Service Level Agreements to meet the specified mission and operational requirements. This service will provide end-to-end, secure data custody from the edge back to the Marine Corps Enterprise Network via Viasat’s worldwide terrestrial network. The Viasat Unified Customer Experience Portal, included with the service, will deliver near real-time situational awareness for operational commanders and network managers alike, thus enabling greater, near real-time understanding across the entire network. Additionally, supported by a 24x7x365 network operations centre and security operations centre, this turnkey service will provide the USMC with terminal inventory management, network performance monitoring, cybersecurity, and cyber defence, as well as engineering support, training, and logistics support.
