SATCOM hardware will be downsized on Navy ships.

• Author: Williams, Robert H.
• Position: TECH TALK: A TIP-SHEET ON THE LATEST GADGETS

* Too many satellite terminals aboard Navy ships create electromagnetic interference. The hardware also takes up too much space on ship decks. As a result, the Navy will be consolidating multiple terminals and satellite-communications services into just two programs, officials said.

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"There are lots of terminals, lots of programs of record going aboard ships, and there's limited topside real estate," said Kai Tang, SATCOM division director at the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center in San Diego. "With too many emitters, we have too much EMI," Tang said. "EMI is a big problem on ships."

The Navy wants to consolidate seven SATCOM programs into two--the Naval Multiband Terminal and...