Photo By Denise A Baumeister | Capt. William A. Dodge Jr., commander, Naval Computer and Telecommunications Area...... read more read more
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WAHIAWA, Hawaii - The Wahiawa Satellite Communications (SATCOM) Facility Hawaii held a ribbon cutting ceremony to mark the start of a new era with the commissioning of the first operational AN/GSC-52B(V5) Modernized Enterprise Terminal (MET) April 16.
Commander, Naval Computer and Telecommunications Area Master Station, Pacific (NCTAMS PAC), Capt. William A. Dodge Jr., opened the ceremony by paying homage to Wahiawa's long history of providing satellite communications, which began three years before the Soviet Union launched Sputnik in 1957 through a program called Moon Relay.
"We are here today to begin to retire the aging workhorse of Department of Defense satellite communications, the AN/FSC-78 terminals, and commission the new AN/GSC-52B(V5) Modernization of Enterprise Terminal (MET)," said Dodge. "The AN/FSC-78 terminals operated in the X-band frequency range and were some of the first to provide the Department of Defense with a man-made satellite global communications capability."
"Today, in partnership with the Army Enterprise Information Systems Program Office, this MET installation is the first of three to replace the 40 year old AN/FSC-78's here in Wahiawa, and will provide a significant increase in our ability to provide joint commanders in the Pacific with command and control of their forces," Dodge continued.
The MET program is intended to modernize fixed X-band Enterprise Terminals by eventually replacing all existing AN/FSC-78 X-band and AN/GSC-70 Ka STARS (Ka-band) terminals.
The AN/GSC-52B(V5) MET is capable of operating in both the X and Ka-band frequency ranges and provides greater bandwidth capacity than both of its predecessors.
This allows Enterprise Information Systems to better support the expanding requirement for earth terminals capable of interfacing with both the Wideband Global Satellite (WGS) constellation and legacy satellite systems like the Defense Satellite Communications System (DSCS).
"This project modernizes the existing AN/FSC-78 earth terminal by replacing it with a 12.2 meter Large Fixed Antenna (LFA), a new antenna group, and modernized fixed operating group," said Dodge. "These upgrades will significantly reduce the operating space and improves the power and cooling budget within the building. The Modernization Enterprise Terminals will support Internet Protocol and Dedicated Circuit connectivity within the Department of Defense Information Network (DoDIN), providing critical C5I reach-back capability."
Army Program Executive Officer for Enterprise Information Systems, Douglas K. Wilstie, also led the ceremony as part of the official party.
Wilstie commented that in addition to the state-of-the-art technology provided by the AN/GSC-52B(V5) MET terminal, "...the MET program provides the project manager of the Defense Communications and Army Transmission Systems with an advanced, strategic terminal architecture that allows for equipment commonality lowering acquisition, logistics, and life cycle costs."
The AN/GSC-52B(V5) MET will soon be installed at other teleport facilities around the world to include: Camp Roberts, California; Fort Buckner, Okinawa; Lago di Patria, Italy; Landstuhl and Ramstein, Germany; Northwest, Virginia; and Bahrain.
At ceremony's end, the DoD's first MET was thus officially commissioned, named "Wahiawa East MET-1," and immediately began operations supporting joint forces throughout the Pacific.
For more news from Commander, U.S. Fleet Cyber Command/U.S. 10th Fleet, visit www.navy.mil/local/FCCC10F/.
| Date Taken: | 04.16.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 05.12.2015 13:50 |
| Story ID: | 163037 |
| Location: | WAHIAWA , HI, US |
| Web Views: | 1,195 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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