Space Development Agency, Norway Agree On Link 16 Tests, New Antenna

COLORADO SPRINGS—The U.S. Space Development Agency (SDA) has signed two new agreements with Norway—one focused on an operational antenna to receive information from the organization’s upcoming low Earth orbit satellites and another for near-term testing.

SDA Director Derek Tournear announced the agreements April 10 at the 2024 Space Symposium here, adding it is the latest international agreement for the agency after it conducted Link 16 testing with an undisclosed nation.

The first agreement focuses on a large radio frequency antenna in Norway’s northern territory. The antenna there will be able to take in data from SDA’s upcoming Tranche 1 constellation of missile warning and tracking and data transport satellites. These satellites, which will begin launching next year, will operate in a polar orbit. SDA has antennas in Alaska and Pennsylvania, and this agreement marks the first one abroad.

Tournear says Norway “worked extremely quickly” to agree to host the antenna.

“That just shows the importance of the [Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture] and what we’re fielding for the warfighter, in particular our allies who are all using the same common equipment that we’re planning on broadcasting down to,” Tournear told reporters.

Tournear said later this year SDA will demonstrate broadcasting the Link 16 data link from space to both air and ground units in Norwegian territory. The agency already is demonstrating that capability now in the territory of an undisclosed nation that is part of the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing agreement with the U.S. The other Five Eyes nations are Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the UK.

The agency does not yet have approval from the FAA to broadcast Link 16 from space within the U.S. Over the summer, before the Norway demonstration, SDA also plans to demonstrate the connections in the Pacific with the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Fleet and during the Valiant Shield exercise.