In this Making Leaders podcast, guest host Lou Zacharilla steps in for Robert Bell to speak with Stuart Daughtridge, Vice President of Advanced Technology at Kratos and Director and Chair of the Digital Intermediate Frequency (IF) Interoperability Consortium (DIFI). Stuart, who was recently nominated for Via Satellite's Satellite Executive of the Year award, joins Lou to talk about DIFI's latest news and the upcoming London Space Business Roundtable on March 5.

Stuart Daughtridge has been with Kratos since 1999, and in the satellite and aerospace industry since 1986. In his current position, Mr. Daughtridge leads Kratos' satellite ground segment technology research and development efforts. Prior to his current role, he held several senior management positions, including SVP & GM of the Integral Systems Products Group, SVP & GM of the Integral Systems Commercial Group, as well as Program Manager of several major commercial programs. Before joining the Company, Mr. Daughtridge held various management and engineering positions with Orion Satellite Corporation, Intelsat, and Spacecom. Mr. Daughtridge holds a Bachelor of Science from Lafayette College.

DIFI has created a standard that enforces interoperability on digital IF/RF technology. Digital IF was developed to overcome the limitations of analog systems but, today, vendor lock-in prevents it from delivering seamless interoperability and severely limits its adoption. A truly interoperable digital IF, on the other hand, will enable transformation to a virtualized ground segment, reducing the total cost of ownership and significantly boosting network and terminal agility and scalability. Compliance with the DIFI standard will ensure that satellite ground segments can seamlessly adapt to rapidly changing space-layer payloads, orbits, and constellations. Ultimately, DIFI promises to elevate the resilience, performance, and capabilities of satellite networks and enable a digital transformation that integrates satellites seamlessly into the larger telecom, IT and GIS markets.