On-board, or "edge," processing is key to SDA's plans to develop a satellite network that can gather data from multiple sensors on the ground, at sea and in space to provide operators with precise, near-real-time targeting information.
Loft's two satellites are carrying payloads for a Space Development Agency demo, the UAE Space Agency and European commercial satcom firm Eutelsat, among others.
Standoff capability means warfighters stay connected and remain remotely located in a safer environment while making it harder for adversaries to target them.
Two of the experiments, each involving two satellites, are focused on laser links: one between satellites themselves; the other from satellites to a MQ-9 Reaper drone on the ground.