Mil-Tech

New Satellite Internet Services in Afghanistan

TS2 Satellite Technologies company is introducing new broadband satellite services to the Afghan market. The broadband service offer two-way high-speed Internet access with no phone lines, no cable, no dial-up modem. It’s always online, available virtually anywhere, and affordable. The offered satellite system is ideally suited for broadband requirements such as Internet and VPN access to enterprise networks, as well as real-time VoIP and video conferencing.

The Internet connection can be shared with other users via wireless or wired network. Most soldiers deploy with a laptop in hand and a hookup to the Internet in their barracks. This is especially important for the many who are married, and have young children. The Internet access has resulted in major morale improvements. Troops no longer feel cut off from home.

Not all the Internet connectivity is just for staying in touch with the folks back home. The troops in Afghanistan use the Internet a lot for professional tasks, and not all of them are official business. Some troops blog, and many other stay in touch with military friends and associates in other parts of the world. The Internet has made possible many online communities composed of military professionals.

Without the new satellite system, large numbers of Soldiers will be without regular communications for much or most of their time in Afghanistan. The infrastructure is Spartan to non-existent.

More about the satellite service on http://www.ts2.pl/en/Internet-in-Iraq-and-Afghanistan

Supported locations in Afghanistan

 Airfields

Bagram Air base 
Chagcharan 
Chapman Airfield 
Bamian / Bamiyan 
Fayzabad / Faizabad 
Herat 
Jalalabad 
Kabul International 
Kandahar / Qandahar 
Khowst 
Mazar-e Sharif, AF 
Meymanah / Maimana 
Pul-i-Kandahar, AF 
Rhino FOB 
Shindand Air base 
Taloqan / Talulqan 

COP’s

COP Baylough
COP Curry
COP JDCC
COP Jelawur
COP Keating
COP Michigan
COP Rath
COP Sangar
COP Sweeney
COP Terminator
COP Warheit

Camps

Camp Albert
Camp Bagram
Camp Barber
Camp Black Horse
Camp Blackjack
Camp Bastion
Camp Bulldog
Camp Civilian
Camp Clark
Camp Cunningham
Camp Delaram 
Camp Dogan
Camp Dwyer / Camp Dywer 
Camp Eggers
Camp Gecko
Camp Gibraltar
Camp Hadrian
Camp Holland
Camp Harriman
Kamp Holland
Camp Invicta
Camp Julien
Camp Kabul
Camp Kandahar
Camp Kearney
Camp Lightning
Camp Leatherneck
Camp Marmal
Camp Morehead
Camp Moorhead
Camp Nathan Smith
Camp Phoenix
Camp Rhino
Camp Salerno
Camp Signal Strike
Camp Souter
Camp Spann
Camp Stone
Camp Tombstone
Camp Vianini
Camp Warehouse
Camp Wilson
Camp Wright
Camp Victory

FOB’s

FOB ABAD
FOB Almasak
FOB Andar
FOB Airborne
FOB Altimur
FOB Anaconda
FOB Apache
FOB Armadillo
FOB Asadabad
FOB Azizullah
FOB Bakwa
FOB Bakwah
FOB Bala Murgha
FOB Bala Murghab
FOB Bermel
FOB Blackhawk
FOB Blackhorse
FOB Blessing
FOB Bostick
FOB Boris
FOB Bullard
FOB Clark
FOB Cobra
FOB Connolly
FOB Chapman
FOB Davis
FOB Delaram
FOB Delhi
FOB Dehli
FOB Dwyer
FOB Edinburgh
FOB Farah
FOB Fenty
FOB Finley-Shields
FOB Freia
FOB Frontenac
FOB Gamberi
FOB Gardez
FOB Gereshk
FOB Geronimo
FOB Ghazni
FOB Ghowrmach
FOB Gibraltar
FOB Howz-e Madad
FOB Hunter
FOB Hutal
FOB Indianhead
FOB Inkerman
FOB Jackson
FOB Jaker
FOB Joyce
FOB Keating
FOB Kalagush
FOB Keenan
FOB Kunduz
FOB Kushamond
FOB Lane
FOB Leatherneck
FOB Lightning
FOB Lindsey
FOB Logar
FOB Lagman
FOB Lion
FOB Lonestar
FOB Lwara
FOB Masum
FOB Ma’sum Ghar
FOB Martello
FOB Maimaneh
FOB Ma’sum Ghar
FOB Mehtar Lam
FOB Mizan
FOB Nathan Smith
FOB Naray
FOB Nolay
FOB Orgun-e
FOB Pasab
FOB Payne
FOB Price
FOB Puza-i-Eshan
FOB Qalat
FOB Ramrod
FOB Rhino
FOB Ripley
FOB Robinson
FOB Rushmore
FOB Salerno
FOB Sandford
FOB Scorpion
FOB Shank
FOB Sharana
FOB Shindand
FOB Stone
FOB Sperwan Ghar
FOB Smart
FOB Spin Boldak
FOB Sweeney
FOB Tillman
FOB Terrett
FOB Thunder
FOB Tiger
FOB Todd
FOB Tombstone
FOB Tora
FOB Tycz
FOB Walton
FOB Warrior
FOB Waza Khwa
FOB Wilson
FOB Wishtan
FOB Wolf
FOB Wolverine
FOB Wright
FOB Vulcan
FOB Zeebrugge
FOB Zormot
FOB Zormat

Fire Bases

Fire Base Anaconda
Fire Base Asadabad
Fire Base California
Fire Base Cobra Strike
Fire Base Cobra
Fire Base Gardez
Fire Base Lagman
Fire Base Maholic
Fire Base Nixon
Fire Base Orgun-E
Fire Base Oulet
Fire Base Phoenix
Fire Base Shkin
Fire Base Waza Khwa
Fire Base Wilderness

Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT)

PRT Asadabad – ISAF US 
PRT Baglan – ISAF 
PRT Bagram – ISAF US 
PRT Bamian (Bamyan) ISAF NZ 
PRT Chaghcharan – ISAF Lithuania 
PRT Farah – ISAF US 
PRT Feyzabad – ISAF Germany 
PRT Gardez – ISAF US 
PRT Ghazni – ISAFUS 
PRT Herat – ISAF Italy 
PRT Jalalabad – ISAF US 
PRT Kabul
PRT Khandahar – ISAF Canada 
PRT Khowst / Khost – ISAF US 
PRT Konduz – ISAF Germany 
PRT Lashkar-Gah – ISAF UK 
PRT Mazar-E-Sharif – ISAF Sweden 
PRT Mehtar Lam – ISAF US 
PRT Meymaneh – ISAF Norway 
PRT Nurestan – ISAF US 
PRT Parwan – ROK/US 
PRT Panjshir – ISAF US 
PRT Pol-E-Khomri – ISAF Netherlands 
PRT Qalat – ISAF US 
PRT Qala-e-Naw – ISAF Spain 
PRT Sharana – ISAF US 
PRT Tarin Kowt – ISAF Netherlands/Australia 
PRT Wardak – ISAF Turkey 

Other

Combat Outpost Herrera 
Combat Outpost Keating 
Combat Outpost Margah 
PB Jaker 
PB Rahim 

British troops in Afghanistan to get new equipment

Britain has announced an equipment package worth 400 million pounds (around $627 million) for its troops in Afghanistan. The equipment include protected vehicles and technology to counter improvised explosive devices.

Source: zeenews.india.com

Military Fuel Cell Shipments to Reach 272,000 Units Annually by 2017, According to Pike Research

The U.S. military is the single largest consumer of energy in the world. As such, the volatility of the international oil markets represents a significant strategic risk to the operational capabilities of the U.S. Armed Forces. Realizing the need to mitigate this strategic vulnerability, U.S. military leaders are actively promoting the development of new technologies, including fuel cells. The increased emphasis on energy security and efficiency, particularly under the complex and challenging operational conditions encountered in remote battlefield environments such as Afghanistan, represents a significant opportunity for fuel cell manufacturers and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). According to a recent report from Pike Research, shipments of fuel cells for military applications will increase to more than 272,000 in 2017, from just over 1,200 in 2011.

That will translate into revenues of $1.2 billion for military fuel cells in 2017, up from only $9 million in 2011, the cleantech market intelligence firm finds.

“Fuel cells will be used in a range of applications by military agencies, including stationary power, mobile electric power, auxiliary power units, unmanned vehicles, and non-tactical vehicles,” says research director Kerry-Ann Adamson. “The largest opportunities for military fuel cells, however, lie in soldier wearable and portable power applications for devices such as radios, ruggedized computers, and night-vision goggles, in which fuel cells are primarily used as a replacement for portable batteries, and in power for unmanned sensors and surveillance systems.”

The strongest drivers for the adoption of fuel cells by the world’s armed forces are performance and energy density, particularly for use by individual troopers. On average, each soldier carries around nine pounds of disposable batteries in their kit, used for powering a range of portable electronics such as imaging and communications equipment. The burden on today’s soldiers to carry more and more high-tech equipment is increasing, and the batteries required to power all this equipment already constitutes an impractical percentage of total weight. Fuel cells, with a far greater energy density than conventional military batteries, represent an excellent means of lightening the load for soldiers and systems in the field.

Nevertheless, fuel cell manufacturers face formidable barriers in their pursuit of the military market. Military users are the world’s most demanding customers for fuel cells and, while they will be less price sensitive than the commercial market in the near term, their performance and production scale requirements may ultimately prove too difficult for some vendors to meet.

Pike Research’s report, “Fuel Cells for Military Applications”, examines the stationary, transport, and portable power applications for fuel cell technologies currently being explored and validated by the U.S. Department of Defense, including a detailed analysis of market drivers as well as potential barriers to adoption. Forecasts through 2017 are also provided for those technologies and applications that are deemed as offering a realistic possibility of being deployed within that timeframe. An Executive Summary of the report is available for free download on the firm’s website.

Pike Research: www.pikeresearch.com