ViaSat Earns FAA Certification for Ka-Band Mobile Satellite System

By gguarino | February 22, 2013
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ViaSat’s VR-12 Ka-band satellite antenna system has passed industry standard DO-160G testing to earn FAA and international certification covering electrical and electronic equipment installed on commercial aircraft.

The certification also applies to helicopters and general aviation aircraft. The VR-12 system and companion mobile satellite modem provides airborne satellite communications for bandwidth intensive applications such as military intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) over both commercial and military Ka-band frequencies, according to ViaSat.

"We designed the VR-12 Ka system to be a form and fit interchange with its Ku-band counterpart," said Paul Baca , vice president of mobile broadband systems at ViaSat. "Customer experience has shown that an antenna swap is possible with a simple flight line maintenance action, allowing for a very quick adaptation of the aircraft BLOS communications capabilities to meet mission requirements."

The newly qualified systems are expected to be ready for delivery in March. More

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