One is hard pressed these days to pass without reading news about high-altitude balloons. From sensational headlines about spy balloons to highly technical jargon explaining the technology, one thing is for sure: for better or for worse, high-altitude balloons are enjoying their 15 minutes of fame.
With so much buzz surrounding these balloons it’s more important than ever to share accurate information, and at Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC), staying one step ahead has been the driving force behind its 60-year history.
The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and allied militaries have decisively realised the critical need for high-altitude balloons for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions. SNC is proud to be an ethical pioneer, putting “skin in the game”, and investing heavily to develop untethered stratospheric technology for nearly a decade.
As an industry expert, SNC’s Lighter-Than-Air High-Altitude Platform Station (LTA-HAPS) supports global, persistent, uninterrupted ISR from the stratosphere with communication capabilities in near real-time. The LTA-HAPS solution is composed of navigable polyethylene and latex platforms that facilitate a greater altitude span for optimal path flexibility at a much lower cost than traditional platforms. Proven at the highest technology readiness level (TRL-9), SNC’s rapid-deployment capability also ensures LTA-HAPS are reliably positioned and responsive within hours or days – versus weeks – for round-the-clock operations.
“SNC has been developing and integrating mission systems, payloads and command/control (C2) capabilities to meet the unique needs of the warfighter for six decades,” said Tim Owings, executive vice president of SNC’s MST business area. “It’s in our company’s DNA and now as the battlefield environment shifts, we are simply applying that strategy to these stratospheric platforms.”
LTA-HAPS solutions give INDOPACOM commanders unique and unparalleled capabilities, including 60+ day endurance and altitudes approaching 75,000 feet. Rapidly maneuverable, SNC’s solutions offer endurance for long-duration, ultra-persistent wide area communications and ISR missions with minimal resupply or maintenance efforts. SNC’s platforms are capable of targeting geolocations anywhere in the world and provide immediately available, exploitable data using a range of existing resources.
“This capability gives allied forces the critical advantage required to evolve communications, command, control and intelligence network needs in response to anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) threats in environments that traditional drones or aircraft may be unable to access,” added Owings. “It is becoming an important part of allied countries’ strategy to identify and protect against threats such as hypersonic weapons.”
SNC’s multi-domain, modular open systems architecture (MOSA) and integration capabilities allow LTA-HAPS platforms to carry advanced defence and aerospace payloads. This includes ISR and electronic warfare sensors, communication networks, cyber intelligence, artificial intelligence, machine learning and data transport capabilities. The company has rapidly developed, integrated and deployed all-domain C5ISR systems worldwide, offering considerable experience with LTA-HAPS platforms and collection systems.
SNC is a trusted leader in innovative, advanced technology solutions and open architecture integrations in aerospace and national security. For 60 years, SNC has worked to stay one step ahead; working on solutions today to solve the problems of tomorrow. SNC provides the leading-edge tools our customers need to safeguard freedom and bring them home safely including customised solutions in the fields of aviation, electronic support measures, JADC2, mission systems and inline cybersecurity.
For more information on SNC or its high-altitude platforms, visit sncorp.com.