Supporting Connectivity for U.S. Army Next-generation Command and Control Objectives

Current conflicts have demonstrated the urgent need to enable on-the-move communications capabilities for warfighters downrange. Gone are the days of stopping to set up elaborate operations centers, with their tents, generators, and forward-operating base feel.  The pace of war has increased to the point where stealth, avoidance, and frequent movement are the keys to surviving on the modern battlefield.
 

The U.S. Army is actively working to modernize and transform the way that it shares information. The branch’s Next-Generation Command and Control (NGC2) initiative will “provide commanders with the ability to make more, better, and faster decisions through advanced analytics, an integrated data layer, open architecture, and robust and resilient transport.”  NGC2 aims to integrate advanced technologies, improve network redundancy and resilience, and provide real-time data to soldiers on the ground, in the air, and at command and-control nodes while on the move.
 

At the upcoming 2025 Association of the United States Army (AUSA) annual meeting and exposition, Viasat will be sharing its innovations that enable universal connectivity across the Army – to ensure real-time information sharing for tactical communications and decision making is available for service members on-the-move and on-the-pause. Our dedication to innovation is unwavering, and we’ve consistently proven our ability to deliver cutting-edge solutions that meet the Army’s most demanding requirements.
 

“Viasat’s commitment to the Army is rooted in our long heritage of fielding edge solutions designed to solve the unique connectivity challenges faced by military operations. We are proud to collaborate closely with Army leaders and soldiers to identify gaps in current systems and develop solutions that address the needs of the NGC2 initiative,” said David Schmolke, Vice President of Viasat Mission Connections and Cybersecurity.
 

During AUSA, our team will be highlighting solutions designed to support NGC2 objectives, including:

Mobile Network Terminal (MNT)

 

For more than two decades, Blue Force Tracking (BFT) transceivers have enabled real-time vehicle tracking to help with command, control, and navigation.  Viasat’s Mobile Network Terminal (MNT) is a complete modernization of Viasat’s BFT capabilities, delivering modern functionality and communications flexibility to meet the needs of today’s missions and anticipated future requirements. The terminal is designed to deliver access to, and management of multiple transports, including LEO, GEO and Line-of-Sight.
 

The MNT is designed to be form & fit compatible with existing BFT transceiver hardware, eliminating the need to reconfigure Army vehicles to fit new terminals. MNT’s software-defined radios, mesh networking capability, and edge AI/ML applications enable intelligent orchestration to deliver on-the-move access to warfighter applications using multiple transports. The MNT is enabled by the Qualcomm Snapdragon Mission Tactical Radio (SMTR) capability. The integrated SMTR SoC delivers 15 Trillion Operations Per Second (TOPS) of on-device intelligence capability, while the Smart Mobility Architecture (SMARC) slot ensures seamless future upgradability when mission requirements evolve without hardware replacement. The SMTR hosts Viasat NetAgility SDN and includes a government-purpose software load on Qualcomm Snapdragon chipsets that allow the radio to use a library of DoW waveforms. 
 

Additionally, the terminal is backward and forward compatible, allowing for methodical investment and installation while ensuring seamless communications between divisions which may have different hardware baselines. Ultimately, Viasat’s MNT offers a flexible and scalable solution for the Army’s command post communications and tactical vehicle needs.

NMR-50 Router

 

The NetAgility Mobile Router 50 (NMR-50) is a compact, rugged edge router built for small form factor applications (SOCOM MODPAYLOAD compliant). It can serve as the communications backbone inside autonomous platforms, as well as adds an additional compute and data storage capability. The Qualcomm SMTR software-defined radio solution delivers access to multiple integrated, diverse transports orchestrated through Viasat’s NetAgility SDN platform, enabling soldiers to utilize various waveforms and satellites and quickly adapt to changing mission communications needs. The NMR-50 and MNT each have a neural processing unit (NPU) capable of running AI workloads and the SMARC slot enables seamless upgrades as mission needs change. 

Quicksilver Free Space Optical (FSO) Terminal

 

The development of electronic warfare (EW) capabilities to detect, disrupt, and degrade traditional communications networks by peer and near-peer adversaries necessitates a resilient, reliable alternative for connectivity in contested environments.

Viasat’s Quicksilver solution is an FSO terminal that delivers high-capacity data transmission, with increased security, and lighter infrastructure. This includes offering data rates of 10 Gbps with an operational range of 50-70km. Supporting on-the-pause communications, this quick setup solution enables low-latency communications with a Low Probability of Intercept/Low Probability of Detect (LPI/LPD) anti-jam link. With Quicksilver, customers can rapidly deploy a high bandwidth, zero radio frequency emission capability without the restrictions of obtaining spectrum clearances or licenses.

 

Quicksilver is an expansion of Viasat’s FSOC solutions, following the introduction of the on-the-move Mercury FSOC terminal in 2023.
 

These are just a few of Viasat’s tactical networking and communications solutions that are built to enhance Army communications and support strategic needs for future operations.
 

Viasat’s team will be available to discuss these technologies at the 2025 AUSA Annual Meeting and Exposition in booth #7415. Stop by the booth to chat with our team and learn more about these capabilities and how they can support your missions!