Jamming one satellite link is often enough to cut a commander off. L3Harris is betting the answer is to give the same terminal several ways out.
Certification is the next hurdle. L3Harris expects the National Security Agency to grant its RASOR hybrid satellite communications system Type 1 approval in early 2027, a step that would let the terminal carry classified mission data. RASOR stands for Rapidly Adaptable Standards-compliant Open Radio.
The hardware is built to keep traffic moving when one route closes. It reaches across constellations in different orbits and bands, and shifts data to another path when jamming or a cyberattack blocks the first. The goal is to remove dependence on any single constellation, band or link, preserving targeting data, sensor feeds and command traffic during contested operations.
L3Harris built the terminal around an open design. Rather than swap out the whole unit to adopt a new waveform or a partner’s hardware, an operator can plug the addition into the existing chassis. The government would also hold property rights to the critical modules and software, an arrangement intended to reduce vendor lock-in and give the Air Force more control over upgrades.
Shawn Miller, who leads spectrum superiority at L3Harris, put the requirement simply: connectivity should not be the weak link.
L3Harris is offering RASOR to the Air Force for command, control, communications and battle management. The pitch reflects a wider problem. Adversaries have shown they can deny, degrade or destroy satellite links, and a network built around one path becomes a single point of failure in a fight with a peer opponent.
