Jamming in the Baltic Sea: Successful test of a laser link between ships
A Lithuanian start-up has successfully tested the Polaris free-space laser terminal at sea together with the navy. It is said to be immune to radio interference.
Polaris (left foreground) on a Lithuanian Navy ship)
(Image: Astrolight)
Research institutions and companies are increasingly looking for ways to circumvent the massive disruption to satellite navigation systems in the Baltic Sea near Russia. The Lithuanian space and defense startup Astrolight has reportedly successfully tested its Polaris free-space laser terminal in cooperation with the country's navy. The test took place between two naval vessels in a region of the Baltic Sea where radio and geolocation interference is a recurring problem.
Russian shadow fleet
According to Polish researchers, ships in the eastern Baltic Sea that are part of the Russian shadow fleet are at least partly responsible for the communication failures in the region. The scientists mainly recorded jamming in the Bay of Gdansk, where the radio signal from satellites is disrupted. By using laser connections, systems such as Polaris could offer "a safe and interference-free alternative", Astrolight announced. Unlike radio, the Polaris signal is very difficult to detect and interfere with. It is therefore well suited for use in areas affected by jamming or in dead spots.
According to the company, the Polaris terminal was able to establish a connection quickly during the demonstration. It was also able to maintain a stable wireless communication channel throughout the entire mission. The system is capable of "operating completely outside the radio frequency spectrum". The Polaris system, which was initiated and continues to be funded by the Lithuanian Ministry of Defence, is designed to transmit "large amounts of information between ships or other platforms at a distance of up to 50 kilometers at speeds of up to 1 Gbit/s" via a laser beam.
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Polaris for NATO
The Lithuanian commander responsible for the project and involved in the test, Lieutenant Justinas Žukauskas, spoke of an "important milestone in the development of next-generation communication technologies for the Lithuanian armed forces". The system's ability to "significantly reduce electromagnetic traces" is "particularly valuable for naval operations in a tactical environment such as the Baltic Sea". It is also pleasing "that what began as part of a maritime hackathon is gradually becoming a reality". The prototype will now be handed over for further testing and integration into the structures of the Lithuanian armed forces.
At the same time, the German Aerospace Center (DLR) is working with partners on Ranging Mode (R-Mode), another alternative to satellite-based systems. The technology, which is independent of GPS and Galileo, is currently on the way to standardization and will be introduced in 2025 in a test field extended to include Finland and Estonia. R-Mode uses existing infrastructures of national maritime facilities to provide radio services in the medium wave and ultra-short wave range. Over the past seven years, a test field with eight R-Mode transmitters has already been established with an extension of around 800 kilometers between Helgoland and Stockholm.
(nie)
