Monday, January 7, 2013

ViaSat ships its 500th ultra-small airborne satellite terminal

Swedish company ViaSat has just reached a military and general aviation market milestone after shipping its 500th VR-12 Ku-band airborne ultra-small satcom antenna, along with its ArcLight technology.

The VR-12 serves as an aircraft which requires a limited size, weight and power of onboard communications equipment, all while meeting the requirements for advanced broadband satcom for media-rich applications.

The VR-12 airframe systems also include a “hatch-mount” version -- a combined antenna system and radome package that falls into the escape hatch of a C-130 aircraft. Other installations include tail mounts for the PC-12 (U-28), commercial Gulfstream and other planes, as well as a fuselage mount for government MC-12W aircraft.

Paul Baca, the General Manager for ViaSat Global Mobile Broadband, said that the ultra-small 30-centimeter aperture of the VR-12 brings the trend for larger antenna designs.

“The small VR-12 footprint has been a key to achieving so many successful Ku-band installations,” Mr. Baca said in a statement. “As more Ka-band satellites become operational, we plan to offer a new VR-12 Ka antenna with an identical footprint as a new configuration option.”

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