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foreseeable future, provided some alternative bearer systems are available. Commercial landline communications can
occasionally be used to a force deployed on land but in an OOA context they provide a tenuous and vulnerable link reliant on other nations' authorities. HF radio is normally used to provide backup communications but its dependence on ionospheric conditions means that it cannot be guaranteed to provide a full service. Moreover, its capacity, though increasing through new technology, is limited and will provide no means of passing fully secure voice and computer data in the quantities needed. Whichever means are used, the circuits
carried can be provided to whichever HQs in UK need access to
them.
3. Deployed Force. Within a lightly equipped brigade sized force deployed ashore, communications are currently carried almost exclusively by conventional tactical VHF and H
F radio. In the future, and in the case of a larger force, communications links between maritime forces, the deployed force HQ and major elements of the land force must be able to accommodate and protect the passage of data in both directions. This need is likely to be met by the use of tactical interoperable SATCOM and, on land, airportable radio relay where distances and topography allow. An armoured or mechanized force will be expected to deploy with the full range of mobile trunk communications, as was the case on Operation GRANBY. Where distances are too great for the scale of communications available, SATCOM bridges can be used to link terrestrial sub-networks. Nevertheless, ground force communications at the lower levels will remain heavily reliant
on tactical radio.
4.
SATCOM.
a.
SKYNET 4 Stage 1 satellites are located at 33°W, 1°W and 53 E. These satellites provide continuous coverage from 108°W to 126°E. A map showing the coverage is at Appendix 1. Each satellite has 4 channels which provide reception from a wide to a narrow beamwidth, the beams of the 1°W satellite being shown on the map. The prime
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