Strasbourg, June 29, 2021 — Eutelsat’s upcoming satellite, EUTELSAT 36D will host a military payload from Airbus. This UHF (Ultra High Frequency) military communications will potentially serve the needs of European armed forces and NATO allies. The UHF payload will be operated from Airbus’s Network Operations Centre in Toulouse. According to Airbus, its 18 UHF channels will enable up to 200 simultaneous communications over Europe, the Middle East, Africa, large parts of Asia, as well as the Atlantic Ocean (to eastern Brazil) and the Indian Ocean (to western Australia).
Military UHF satellite communications are used by the armed forces for operations on land, at sea and in the air. The UHF band is very flexible and is of particular interest to Special Forces units as it offers a lightweight, robust and highly secure means of communication. An extensive range of terminals for use on land, at sea and in the air is available to meet the needs of the various armed forces.
As the UHF frequency band is a relatively scarce orbital resource, this offering will make up for the capacity shortage around the world. Airbus has already signed the first firm orders for this capacity, well ahead of the satellite’s scheduled to launch in the first half of 2024
