Rebecca Cowen-Hirsch, senior vice president of government strategy and policy for Inmarsat Government, cited the importance of communications to the U.S. military during a panel discussion Wednesday at the Satellite 2018 conference, National Defense reported Thursday. “There is no mission that takes place in the United States military that isn’t enabled by communication. It is the […] More

Viasat has secured a contract to update NATO control stations for ultra-high-frequency satellite communications systems in an effort to help address the international alliance’s integrated waveform baseline requirement. The company said Wednesday it will modernize NATO’s UHF communications infrastructure to the Visual Integrated SATCOM Information, Operation and Networking software package designed to increase flexibility, interoperability and […] More

Viasat and the U.S. Air Force have jointly completed a production readiness review of an cryptographic module for military handheld devices and unmanned systems that transmit sensitive and classified data. The embeddable Mini Crypto module passed the assessment and is slated to enter low-rate initial production, Viasat said Wednesday. Mini Crypto is designed to help accelerate the development of small […] More

ViaSat‘s handheld Link 16 radio has obtained the National Security Agency‘s Type 1 security certification to process classified information. The Viasat Battlefield Awareness and Targeting System – Dismounted radio works to provide direct access to a line of sight tactical datalink network for aircraft, ships and ground forces, the company said Monday. BATS-D is designed to facilitate digital […] More

ViaSat has supplied an end-to-end Link 16 communications system to support Halifax-class frigates of Canada’s navy. The fleet-wide Link 16 multi-link upgrade will help the Canadian navy boost its communications capacity with U.S., NATO and other allied forces as well as prepare for and address potential at-sea threats, ViaSat said Tuesday. “The Halifax-class frigates are the […] More

Lockheed Martin has awarded ViaSat a contract of an undisclosed value to provide L-band data link communications technology for the integration and testing phase of the U.S. Navy‘s Long Range Anti-Ship Missile program. ViaSat said Wednesday it will deliver Weapon Data Link L-Band units and provide software enhancement and flight test support services under the follow-on contract. LRASM is a key element of the […] More

Boeing has awarded ViaSat a potential $20 million contract to manufacture small tactical terminals for integration onto AV-8B Harrier attack planes for the U.S. Marine Corps and international defense customers. ViaSat said Monday its KOR-24A STT units will work to help Harrier pilots communicate with other U.S. and allied airmen or ground forces via the Link 16 and Soldier Radio Waveform networks. “This order from Boeing […] More

Inmarsat‘s Rebecca Cowen-Hirsch and Hughes Network Systems’ Rick Lober will participate in a panel discussion at the Satellite Industry Association’s two-day Defense Department Commercial SATCOM Workshop that will kick off Dec. 15 in Virginia. Cowen-Hirsch, senior vice president for government strategy and policy at Inmarsat; and Lober, VP and general manager of Hughes’ defense and intelligence systems division; will discuss the […] More

ViaSat has reached the 500-unit production milestone for its KOR-24A small tactical terminal under a rate that works to roll out more than 20 terminals per month. The company said Monday STT two-channel radios have worked to provide direct Link 16 network interoperability for U.S. and international military users through more than 1,000,000 operational flight hours. “We produced and delivered over 210 STTs to customers over […] More

ViaSat has been selected to provide a small tactical terminal to the Canadian air force for use in the service’s long-range patrol aircraft CP-140 Aurora. The broadband services and technology firm will work with General Dynamics’ mission systems business unit to manufacture the two-channel, software-defined KOR-24A terminal for the customer, ViaSat said Wednesday. The company […] More

Viasat has secured a pair of contracts from the Navy Exchange Service Command to provide telecommunication network services for sailors deployed at the U.S. Navy’s installations in Guam and Poland. The company said Monday it will deliver a fiber Wi-Fi network, voice communications and TV network services to Naval Station Guam and Andersen Air Force […] More