U.S. approves potential sale of Navy multiband terminals for future British submarines.

The US State Department has cleared a roughly 200 million Foreign Military Sales package to provide Advanced Extremely High Frequency compatible Navy Multiband Terminals for the Royal Navy’s future Dreadnought class ballistic missile submarines. The deal hardwires the United Kingdom’s at-sea deterrent into the same protected satellite communications backbone used by US forces and key NATO allies, improving the resilience of nuclear command and control in a more contested environment.

The U.S. has approved a possible 200 million Foreign Military Sales case to equip the Royal Navy’s Dreadnought class ballistic missile submarines with Navy Multiband Terminals configured for the Advanced Extremely High Frequency network, according to a notification sent to Congress by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency. The package, which builds on an earlier 41.02 million dollar FMS case that quietly funded two terminals below the notification threshold, will take the total to eight shipsets and add encryption devices, high data rate submarine masts, training, and long-term engineering support. For London, the objective is clear: to bring the Dreadnought fleet into service, already wired into the same hardened satellite architecture that underpins US and NATO strategic communications.
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The integration of Navy Multiband Terminal (NMT) systems into Dreadnought via high data rate masts is intended to connect the submarines directly to the AEHF constellation and to national or allied command centres ashore (Picture source: Bae Systems)

The Navy Multiband Terminal (NMT) represents the latest generation of naval multiband satellite terminals, able to operate in Extremely High Frequency (EHF) and Super High Frequency (SHF) bands, with extension to X band and Ka band services provided by the main US military constellations. Public data indicate a range of data rates from roughly 75 bits per second for the most robust waveforms up to around 8 megabits per second for higher capacity services, a volume clearly above that of earlier EHF generations. The system’s modular architecture separates an antenna group installed in the superstructure or in a high data rate mast from a communications group installed in an electronic bay, the latter hosting modems, encryption equipment, and IP interfaces. On a nuclear ballistic missile submarine (SSBN), the entire set is encapsulated in a mast designed to withstand hydrodynamic loads and to be raised only at periscope depth, to limit exposure.

The Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) constellation is designed to provide highly protected satellite communications, resilient against jamming and with a low probability of interception. The satellites employ narrow beams, adaptive antennas, and frequency hopping waveforms, supplemented by inter-satellite links that allow traffic to be routed without systematic reliance on ground stations. The most capable waveforms deliver data rates of around 8.2 megabits per second, with global coverage roughly between 65 degrees north and 65 degrees south. This footprint allows a stable link to be maintained with Royal Navy submarines operating from the North Atlantic to the South Atlantic and, if required, to the approaches of the Indo-Pacific, while reducing vulnerability to targeted jamming.

The Dreadnought platform itself is designed to exploit these protected links. Longer than the Vanguard class, with a length of about 153.6 metres and a submerged displacement close to 17,200 tonnes, it adopts a redesigned hull providing increased internal volume for mission systems and crew facilities. New generation anechoic coatings and an optimised hull geometry aim to reduce acoustic signature across a broader range of frequencies, while the internal layout is built around an enlarged technical deck and a largely digital platform management system. Dreadnought also emphasizes accommodation standards, with facilities suited to mixed crews, enlarged living spaces, and lighting that reproduces day–night cycles for patrols lasting several weeks.

The integration of Navy Multiband Terminal (NMT) systems into Dreadnought via high data rate masts is intended to connect the submarines directly to the AEHF constellation and to national or allied command centres ashore. The resulting data flows feed the Recognised Maritime Picture/Common Operational Picture (RMP/COP) and support secure coordination of strategic deterrent patrols, anti submarine warfare and any wider joint operations. Protected waveforms and higher data rates enable the transmission of operational plans, targeting data or imagery intelligence without multiplying breaks in emission control, with emission control (EMCON) remaining central for an SSBN. The ability to raise a mast briefly, pass a substantial volume of encrypted data and then return to radio silence has a direct impact on platform survivability and on the credibility of the Continuous At Sea Deterrent posture.

The selection of RTX Corporation as prime contractor places the United Kingdom in the same family of terminals as the US Navy and several allies already connected to the Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) network. The gradual standardisation of protected communications architecture, waveforms, and terminal families simplifies long-term maintenance, spare parts supply, and the sharing of incremental upgrades. This convergence reduces the risk of technological fragmentation in protected satellite communications and strengthens the ability of British forces to integrate quickly into allied command architectures, whether in a NATO context, within AUKUS, or in more ad hoc coalition frameworks.

The decision is part of the modernisation of the United Kingdom’s sea based deterrent and the adjustment of allied nuclear and conventional command arrangements to growing competition in space, cyberspace, and the electromagnetic spectrum. Equipping Dreadnought with the same protected satellite backbone as US strategic submarines reflects London’s choice to keep its nuclear posture embedded in allied networks rather than relying on a purely national architecture. As European allies link into the Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) segment, the resilience of Western command and control in the face of anti-satellite capabilities and newer jamming techniques increases from the North Atlantic to the Arctic and out to Indo-Pacific sea lanes, without altering the basic military balance in the regions concerned.