Commercial, Embedded Avionics

Cobham Introduces New Satcom System for Air Transport

By Emily Feliz | June 17, 2013
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Cobham has introduced the AVIATOR S satcom terminal and antenna system, aimed at the air transport market.

The company said the development of the AVIATOR S series system was driven by the latest specifications formulated by the Air Transport Air-to-Ground-Communications working group (ARINC 781), along with anticipated requirements for safety services and network domain separation for air traffic control (ATC).

The first system to be made available will be the AVIATOR 200S – a two Line Replacement Unit (LRU) satellite communication system which will utilize the Inmarsat SwiftBroadband packet data communication system.
According to the company, the AVIATOR 200S will combine the provision of SwiftBroadband ACARS data services for Air Traffic Control and Aircraft Operation with an Internet Protocol (IP) data pipe for the transfer of operational and flight data to ground maintenance and control facilities, or real-time weather and other flight relevant information updates to Electronic Flight Bags or flight management systems. Other features of the system include a Compact Satellite Data Unit (C-SDU) which is deployed with a phased array antenna with built-in Diplexer, Low Noise Amplifier (DLNA) and High Power Amplifier (HPA) and a form factor which enables IP/ACARS data communications for all sizes of air transport aircrafts from regional to large oceanic crafts.

“The new capabilities of the AVIATOR S series will significantly benefit aircraft operations by offering an extremely compact LRU and antenna configuration for safety services, such as FANS-1A and CPDLC and safety voice, over SwiftBroadband. Additionally, it will simultaneously provide data connectivity for non-safety use in the flight deck with tablets, EFB and other data needs in a segregated manner as the S series is designed to the latest ARINC 781 Chapter 8 specifications for safe segregation of data between the aircraft domains,” Walther Thygesen, vice president of Cobham SATCOM.

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