Satellite bandwidth and link optimisation supplier Comtech EF Data has secured new order to support the US Navy’s Advanced Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) Interface Processor (ATIP) terminals.

ATIP is a Layer-2 Ethernet bridging device installed on the US Navy’s vessel, shore and submarine platforms in the Navy Multiband Terminal (NMT).

The order will provide the navy’s Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) with long-term support for the TDMA ATIP terminals.

Valued at $2.8m, the current order is part of a $19.1m follow-on indefinite-delivery indefinite-quantity contract and has an initial funding level of $1.6m.

“The ATIP TD mode will allow the navy to operate at very low code rates to maintain communication links in impaired environments.”

The contract is designed to continue for a period of ten years, with provisions for a five-year base and five one-year options.

Comtech Telecommunications president and chief executive officer Fred Kornberg said: “This new delivery order is to complete the development of an ATIP Terminal Direct (TD) mode that will enable the full capabilities of our previous Adaptive Coding development effort.

“The ATIP TD mode will allow the navy to operate at very low code rates to maintain communication links in impaired environments.”

The ATIP programme has been designed to offer significant enhancements such as dynamic bandwidth management, higher extreme data rate (XDR) support, and enhanced throughput to improve the performance of the US Navy’s advanced extremely high-frequency (AEHF) system.

Based in Tempe, Arizona, US, Comtech EF Data is a subsidiary of US telecommunications equipment firm Comtech Telecommunications and is part of the company’s commercial solutions segments.