IP networking over the AEHF MILSATCOM system

Due to the US Government´s cancellation of the Transformational Satellite Communications (TSAT) program, Internet Protocol (IP) networking using Military Satellite Communications (MILSATCOM) is not currently planned. In order to support military IP based communications over MILSATCOM systems; affordable, effective and efficient solutions must be developed. An alternate near-term MILSATCOM networking solution may include the Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) MILSATCOM system, which provides circuit switched data rates up to 8 Mbps. Given the information sharing and collaboration capabilities possible in a network-centric environment, identifying methods to leverage AEHF for IP-based applications is becoming increasingly important. For this effort, MITRE developed an AEHF protocol specific extension to a network emulator in order to produce high fidelity results in a laboratory environment. This paper describes an alternate network configuration for the AEHF system that requires no changes to the AEHF system. This paper also evaluates three potential network enhancements to enable the operation of IP-based applications through AEHF. Experiments were performed on small, medium, and large file transfers using SCPS, Digital Fountain Code, and Flume Network Optimization™. Analysis indicates that the AEHF simplex full mesh alternate configuration, coupled with any one of the aforementioned three network enhancements, significantly improves network performance.