Demonstrations and validations at Sea-Air-Space Expo 2023 Presenting PhantomBlu to the defence community
by Macy Summers
Recently returned from the Sea-Air-Space conference and exposition, which took place at Maryland’s National Harbor in early April, we’re still buzzing from the people we met, the many opportunities for feedback and takeaways, the array of vendors present and the overwhelmingly positive feedback on PhantomBlu.
PhantomBlu — The Blu Wireless IEEE 5G mmWave network technology is built with the military in mind. It’s stealthy, ultrafast, works across many military platforms, whether afloat or on land, manned or unmanned, has an extremely low probability of detection (LPD) and low probability of interception (LPI). It is also self-healing, robust and highly reliable — a communications combination that until now the defence community has been missing in wideband solutions.
Past limitations and the move towards a stealthy network
Maritime operations have been hampered in the past through limitations caused by narrow-band connectivity. Availability, speed, covertness and jamming have all been issues. But now, 5th generation wireless communications are promising to enable maritime operations to connect ships, autonomous systems and sensors wherever the US Navy and Marine Corps operate. PhantomBlu offers the high availability and high bandwidth of 5G connectivity capabilities along with the stealth, low latency architecture and reliability needed in tactical situations.
The result is a 5G mmWave network that can integrate with existing ethernet technologies to create a Zero Trust cybersecurity framework. With this technology, vast quantities of data can be safeguarded and securely transmitted for optimum operational outcomes.
Demonstrating the innovative PhantomBlu
The Sea-Air-Space event was an ideal opportunity to discuss with visitors and peers the challenges associated with connectivity in maritime operations and the solutions that are already in sight. The show also provided the perfect platform for demonstrating PhantomBlu’s performance in front of a defence audience. While we’re still perfecting the product, the performance of the prototype was immensely impressive, showcasing a remarkable level of capability and sophistication.
Our demo showcased a live naval scenario delivering gigabit links from the Gaylord Convention Center Terrace to a mobile terminal on a Potomac river vessel, proving the technology is mature and ready for platform integration.
The demo garnered almost universal positive feedback, with many delegates amazed that the multi-gigabit LPI/LPD technology is available in the market.
Almost every visitor who came to our stand validated our focus on LPD and LPI, reiterating the importance of well-hidden communication networks that present a huge challenge for any near-peer adversary’s ESM system to detect.
It was a privilege to be at the event in the company of so many highly respected vendors and partners. Notable nearby exhibition stands were CACI, L3Harris, US Navy Research Labs, Thales and Leidos, which all provided new and valuable information in the form of presentations and sessions.
During the 3-day show and our weeklong stay in Maryland, we established some fascinating new contacts and took the opportunity to meet up with several of our existing partners and customers to provide updates and further strengthen relationships.
All in all, Sea-Air-Space proved to be a hugely worthwhile event in terms of connections and raising the profile of the next generation of defence communications.
If you’d like to talk to us about our defence communications solution, please get in touch.