FIGURE 5.3 Wide area augmentation system data link coverage. SOURCE: Courtesy of the Federal Aviation Administration.

of the integrated geostationary/low Earth orbit (GEO/LEO) satellite network to provide expanded wide area augmentation system (WAAS) data link coverage for the polar regions (see Figure 5.3).

Although the impacts of climate change are not expected to directly impact radio frequency (RF) communication systems, there is a high likelihood that a warming climate will ultimately increase the operational tempo in Arctic regions and thus the demands on communication systems to operate in a familiar fashion and with performance standards similar to those that the naval forces have trained with and become accustomed to. Today’s U.S. naval network-centric mobile communications architecture is designed around a mix of satellites for non-line-of-sight communications and line-of-sight (point-to-point) communication systems.

The line-of-sight communication systems employed by U.S. naval platforms provide horizon-limited local communications between Marine ground forces and among naval ships over useful ranges of 30 miles and between airborne assets up to hundreds of miles. These military communication and networking systems consist of multiple legacy systems and are characterized by the older Link