WASHINGTON — The third mobile user objective system (MUOS) satellite system is scheduled to launch Jan. 20, contractor Lockheed Martin announced on Friday.

The satellite will be launched on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V launch vehicle from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

The MUOS system will create a secure, worldwide 3G communication network for US Navy operatives in the field. The Navy currently uses the legacy ultra high frequency (UHF) system, which provides data at 2.4 kilobytes per second of digital voice only; MUOS upgrades that to 348 kb/s and adds the ability to transfer data.

In essence, it will operate as a smartphone network for Navy forces around the globe.

The MUOS constellation will comprise include five total satellites; four will be active, while the fifth will operate as an on-orbit spare. Each unit is designed to last a minimum of 15 years, but recent military satellite programs have routinely exceeded their suggested lifetimes.

The second MUOS satellite launched in July of 2013, while the fourth satellite is scheduled to launch late in 2015.

"MUOS is a game changer in communications for our warfighters and will allow them to have high-fidelity voice conversations, networked team calls and data exchange, including video, with anyone connected to a secure terminal around the world," Iris Bombelyn, vice president of Narrowband Communications at Lockheed Martin, said in a company statement. "The launch of MUOS-3 will increase our network coverage to about three-quarters of the globe."

Email: amehta@defensenews.com.

About Aaron Mehta

Aaron Mehta was deputy editor and senior Pentagon correspondent for Defense News, covering policy, strategy and acquisition at the highest levels of the Defense Department and its international partners.

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