Military Procurement International Vol. 19, No. 9, May 1, 2009
Copyright DAPSS S.A., 200
9, Switzerland. It is unlawful to reproduce any of this publication without written permission from the publisher.
ITALY
Successful
launch of SICRAL 1B COMSAT
On April 20, the Russian-Ukrainian Sea
Launch company successfully
placed in orbit, from a floating platform near the Equator in the Pacific, the Italian
Defence Ministry’s SICRAL 1B military communications satellite (COMSAT).
Built by Franco-Italian Thales
Alenia Space and scheduled to operate until 2021, the SICRAL 1B payload
includes one EHF/Ka-band, three UHF-band and five active SHF-band transponders.
It will provide strategic and tactical communications services for the Italian
Armed Forces at home and abroad, as well as ensuring mobile communications
with land, naval and air platforms. It will also support NATO forces with its UHF and SHF communications capabilities.
SICRAL 1B will work in
tandem with the first SICRAL satellite, SICRAL 1A, launched in 2001 with an
expected life of 11 years. Italy is now cooperating with France on the
development of SICRAL 2, with its launch planned for 2012.