An overview of protected satellite communications in intelligent age

Protected satellite communications (SatComs) exhibit specific characteristics such as security, intelligence, anti-jamming, and nuclear disaster survivability. They constitute one of the key research topics in modern military communications and have become the basic means for implementing strategic and tactical command and control. Currently, the United States military is using the latest advanced extremely high-frequency (AEHF) system to provide protected communications. Other countries are also employing their own protected SatCom systems to meet future operational requirements. Furthermore, in the modern intelligent age, many intelligent-related technologies are introduced into the protected SatCom systems to provide more secure and efficient communication services. In this paper, a comprehensive overview of the protected SatCom systems is presented. More specifically, a system overview of the protected SatComs is illustrated. Our focus is placed on the critical technologies and practical applications, and finally discuss remaining challenges and look forward to the future research directions. It is undoubted that the protected SatCom is one of the most important systems in military communications, both now and in the future.