Aerospace & Defense Technology - September 2023 - 21

RF & Microwave Technology
How Laser Communications Innovation is Finally Coming of Age
and Driving Innovation in Defense
R
adio is a well-established technology.
For over 100 years, it has been widely
used: in communication, radar, navigation,
remote control, remote sensing,
and other respects. It is popular because
it works; it is reliable. And yet laser has
shown itself to be a superior medium of
communication. Indeed, the laser-vs-radio
debate is already getting old. What is
new - and what will truly change the
debate - are the transformations currently
taking place in laser telecommunications
- transformations which will
drive innovation in defense.
It is perhaps worth pausing to remind
ourselves of what laser's existing advantages
over radio are. Laser communications
offer faster data transfer, and greater
data capacity. And by virtue of their
structure and size, lasers are almost
impossible to detect, intercept, or jam.
Interference is also rare. Lasers do not
'leak' in the same way radio does, and, as
against the broad transmission style of
radio, they transfer information along a
very narrow beam, which cannot overlap
with any other.
But it is the new innovations in the
field, rather than these advantages, that
will provide a technical and thus competitive
advantage for companies and
the military. That is why laser technology
is becoming such a key field in
defense. The Chinese are investing heavily,
and taking big steps forward in this
area, but the U.S. military had the foresight
and pragmatism to realize in the
1990s that the most exciting developments
in defense and defense-adjacent
technology were taking place not in the
EarthEarth
RF link
Optical link
Mars
Mars
The example of a link between Mars and Earth illustrates the difference of beam divergence between
RF and laser. Radio waves and light are both electromagnetic waves, having very distant frequencies.
However, when light is emitted by a laser, it is concentrated in a beam directed in one direction and not
very divergent, unlike radio transmitters which diffuse the wave in a much more open cone.
Lasers have already proven their ability to enable robust satellite communications in atmospheric turbulence.
The use of Cailabs' optical ground station (OGS) technology to enable high-throughput space
telecommunications networks has gained recognition from organizations such as the French Ministry of
the Armed Forces, AID, DGA, SSC, and CONTEC.
Aerospace & Defense Technology, September 2023
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≈ 0, 1 earth diameter
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Aerospace & Defense Technology - September 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Aerospace & Defense Technology - September 2023

Aerospace & Defense Technology - September 2023 - Intro
Aerospace & Defense Technology - September 2023 - Sponsor
Aerospace & Defense Technology - September 2023 - Cov1
Aerospace & Defense Technology - September 2023 - Cov2
Aerospace & Defense Technology - September 2023 - 1
Aerospace & Defense Technology - September 2023 - 2
Aerospace & Defense Technology - September 2023 - 3
Aerospace & Defense Technology - September 2023 - 4
Aerospace & Defense Technology - September 2023 - 5
Aerospace & Defense Technology - September 2023 - 6
Aerospace & Defense Technology - September 2023 - 7
Aerospace & Defense Technology - September 2023 - 8
Aerospace & Defense Technology - September 2023 - 9
Aerospace & Defense Technology - September 2023 - 10
Aerospace & Defense Technology - September 2023 - 11
Aerospace & Defense Technology - September 2023 - 12
Aerospace & Defense Technology - September 2023 - 13
Aerospace & Defense Technology - September 2023 - 14
Aerospace & Defense Technology - September 2023 - 15
Aerospace & Defense Technology - September 2023 - 16
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Aerospace & Defense Technology - September 2023 - 18
Aerospace & Defense Technology - September 2023 - 19
Aerospace & Defense Technology - September 2023 - 20
Aerospace & Defense Technology - September 2023 - 21
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Aerospace & Defense Technology - September 2023 - 24
Aerospace & Defense Technology - September 2023 - 25
Aerospace & Defense Technology - September 2023 - 26
Aerospace & Defense Technology - September 2023 - 27
Aerospace & Defense Technology - September 2023 - 28
Aerospace & Defense Technology - September 2023 - 29
Aerospace & Defense Technology - September 2023 - 30
Aerospace & Defense Technology - September 2023 - 31
Aerospace & Defense Technology - September 2023 - 32
Aerospace & Defense Technology - September 2023 - 33
Aerospace & Defense Technology - September 2023 - 34
Aerospace & Defense Technology - September 2023 - 35
Aerospace & Defense Technology - September 2023 - 36
Aerospace & Defense Technology - September 2023 - Cov3
Aerospace & Defense Technology - September 2023 - Cov4
https://www.nxtbook.com/smg/techbriefs/24ADT12
https://www.nxtbook.com/smg/techbriefs/24ADT10
https://www.nxtbook.com/smg/techbriefs/24ADT09
https://www.nxtbook.com/smg/techbriefs/24ADT08
https://www.nxtbook.com/smg/techbriefs/24ADT06
https://www.nxtbook.com/smg/techbriefs/24ADT05
https://www.nxtbook.com/smg/techbriefs/24ADT04
https://www.nxtbook.com/smg/techbriefs/24ADT02
https://www.nxtbook.com/smg/techbriefs/23ADT12
https://www.nxtbook.com/smg/techbriefs/23ADT10
https://www.nxtbook.com/smg/techbriefs/23ADT09
https://www.nxtbook.com/smg/techbriefs/23ADT08
https://www.nxtbook.com/smg/techbriefs/23ADT06
https://www.nxtbook.com/smg/techbriefs/23ADT05
https://www.nxtbook.com/smg/techbriefs/23ADT04
https://www.nxtbook.com/smg/techbriefs/23ADT02
https://www.nxtbook.com/smg/techbriefs/22ADT12
https://www.nxtbook.com/smg/techbriefs/22ADT10
https://www.nxtbook.com/smg/techbriefs/22ADT09
https://www.nxtbook.com/smg/techbriefs/22ADT08
https://www.nxtbook.com/smg/techbriefs/22ADT06
https://www.nxtbook.com/smg/techbriefs/22ADT05
https://www.nxtbook.com/smg/techbriefs/22ADT04
https://www.nxtbook.com/smg/techbriefs/22ADT02
https://www.nxtbook.com/smg/techbriefs/21ADT12
https://www.nxtbook.com/smg/techbriefs/21ADT10
https://www.nxtbook.com/smg/techbriefs/21ADT09
https://www.nxtbook.com/smg/techbriefs/21ADT08
https://www.nxtbook.com/smg/techbriefs/21ADT06
https://www.nxtbook.com/smg/techbriefs/21ADT05
https://www.nxtbook.com/smg/techbriefs/21ADT04
https://www.nxtbook.com/smg/techbriefs/21ADT02
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