The U.S. Navy has announced that its next generation narrowband satellite communication system has been approved for expanded operational use by U.S. Strategic Command. The authorization paves the way for Navy and Marine Corps early-adopter commands to use the system on deployment as early as this fall, primarily in the Pacific theater. The Navy's on-orbit, five-satellite constellation, the Mobile User Objective System (MUOS), began providing legacy satellite communications shortly after the first MUOS satellite launch in 2012. Each MUOS satellite has dual-capability. The Marine Corps has announced that it will be the first service to widely deploy MUOS, largely due to its investment in MUOS-portable radios over the past six years. The Marine Corps is slated to begin initial MUOS fielding in the fourth quarter of 2018, followed by initial operational capability in the first quarter of 2019.
Navy Satellite System Approved
