Guidance: SKYNET Enduring Capability (SKEC) programme
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Engage with the Ministry of Defence (MOD) on SKYNET Enduring
Capability (SKEC), the next generation of solutions for future
satellite communication programmes. From: Ministry of Defence
Published 6 November 2020 Last updated 4 April 2023 — See all
updates Contents About the SKYNET Programme About SKEC Get involved
with the SKEC programme Industry engagement
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Engage with the Ministry of Defence (MOD) on SKYNET Enduring Capability (SKEC), the next generation of solutions for future satellite communication programmes. From: Published 6 November 2020 Last updated 4 April 2023 — See all updates Contents
About the SKYNET Programme SKYNET is a family of military communications satellites, currently operated for the Ministry of Defence (MOD), that provides strategic communication services to the UK Armed Forces and allies. SKYNET 5 is the most recent generation of this family. The SKYNET Enduring Capability (SKEC) programme will deliver the next era of satellite communications (SATCOM) to the MOD using new space assets and a way to monitor and control them. These assets will also be supported by additional commercial services to provide a reliable and robust communications service. About SKEC The MOD SKEC Team are currently defining the future of the MOD’s satellite communications capabilities. New technologies and services in the space sector are emerging all the time, along with new threats, risks and hazards as space gets busier and more competitive. In the same way that mobile phones need more data and bandwidth, with every new user and new technology, so do military communications and these demands are growing quickly. To meet these additional demands, the MOD SKEC team want to build a network of satellites, ground stations and other user services to provide first class communications for government, allies and especially our defence personnel, whether they’re on operational duty or keeping in touch with family and friends whilst deployed. The SKEC space segment will consist of two separate procurements, as follows:
Get involved with the SKEC programme To build this new network the MOD SKEC Team would like to work with innovators in industry, academia and other government bodies, including our closest allies, to understand new trends and new opportunities and to encourage research and development. To meet the needs of SKYNET, we are currently investigating:
Industry engagement Previous industry engagements for the SKEC programme include the following:
The MOD is continuing to develop the SKYNET Enduring Capability (SKEC) requirement set and we are taking the time to ensure that this is properly defined and articulated clearly. SKEC Wideband Satellite System (WSS) Industry Engagement The MOD SKYNET Enduring Capability (SKEC) Delivery Team will be conducting an Industry Engagement Day at The Defence Academy, Shrivenham Thursday 27 April 2023. The aim of the day is to provide information to industry on the Wideband Satellite System procurement, which will include the following:
If you wish to register for a SKYNET Defence Share account, or have any other questions, please contact the SKEC team at UKStratComDD-CM-SatcomSKEC-IE@mod.gov.uk. SKEC Wideband Satellite System (WSS) Update The MOD SKYNET Enduring Capability (SKEC) Delivery Team continues to mature the Wideband Satellite System requirement set, and is able to provide the following update: The SKEC team will launch the Wideband Satellite System (WSS) procurement later this calendar year (2023). SKEC Narrowband Satellite System (NSS) invitation to negotiate The MOD SKEC Delivery Team is pleased to announce the launch of the SKYNET Enduring Capability (SKEC) Narrowband Satellite System (NSS) Invitation to Negotiate (ITN) hosted on AWARD. The SKEC Project will deliver the next era of satellite communications (SATCOM) to the MOD using new space assets. Beyond-Line-of-Sight UHF narrowband communications remains a core element of the MOD’s SATCOM portfolio and this procurement is for a single UHF geosynchronous satellite and its control system. The satellite is required to meet NATO STANAG 4681 Ed 2 and/or MIL-STD-188-100 standards. The satellite is known as the SKYNET Enduring Capability Narrowband Satellite System (SKEC NSS). A Contract Bidders Notice has been published on DSP. The SKYNET EC Team look forward to Bidder’s engagement in this procurement. SKYNET Enduring Capability Industry Engagement Day The MOD SKEC Team held an Industry Engagement day on 19 May 2022 at Space Park Leicester. During this engagement day, the SKEC team provided industry with an update on the separation of the Narrowband Satellite Systems (NSS) and Wideband Satellite Systems (WSS) procurements, which included:
All briefing material, an audio of the presentation and the responses to questions received on the day has been made available on the SKYNET Defence Share portal. If you wish to register for a SKYNET Defence Share account, or have any other questions, please contact the SKEC team at UKStratComDD-CM-SatcomSKEC-IE@mod.gov.uk. SKEC Industry Engagement Summary Briefing Document and RFI Following the SKYNET Enduring Capability Industry Engagement Day, the MOD published the SKEC Industry Engagement Summary Briefing Document and Request For Information (RFI) and supporting documentation. The RFI will be used to support the ongoing development of the SKEC procurements and seeks to gather information from industry in the following categories:
This RFI was closed at 12:00 (GMT) on 05 July 2022. The MOD would like to thank all participants for their submissions. Requests for Information (RFI) The SKYNET Programme will at various times release Requests for Information (RFI) to industry in order to examine specific capability or technology topics. Formal publication of RFIs will be via the Defence Share portal. For information on how to access and register for Defence Share please see below or contact the SKEC Team. SKEC Technical Seminars The SKEC Team would like to invite industry, academia and other bodies to a series of MOD facilitated seminars on satellite technology, to discuss innovative ideas, approaches and capabilities that could be relevant to the project, initially with a focus on:
It is anticipated that the SKEC satellites will be in-service until at least 2040 and the MOD are interested in both current and emerging technologies in these areas. Contact the MOD SKEC Team if your solutions could enhance any of the key satellite performance metrics (communications throughput, power generation capacity, propulsion capability), or other important system drivers including timescales, costs, interoperability, risk and resilience; and the system’s geographic coverage. Contact us If you think you and your team could help the MOD SKEC Team meet any of these challenges, then we’d be very interested to hear from you. Please contact us at UKStratComDD-CM-SatcomSKEC-IE@mod.gov.uk. More information You can find out more information on our collaborative site Defence Share. This is a secure site and if you wish to apply for access please request this by emailing the workspace manager at UKStratComDD-CM-SatcomSKEC-IE@mod.gov.uk. There is also further information on the SKEC programme and other MOD contracts on the Defence Sourcing Portal (DSP). You can login or register as a user on the official e-sourcing platform which advertises new contract opportunities tender and information on doing business with the MOD. Suppliers should register for access using the supplier registration button on the DSP homepage. To access SKEC and other opportunities in the Defence supply chain follow @defenceproc on Twitter. |