Military

ViaSat, DRS Data Link

By Tish Drake | March 27, 2007
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ViaSat and DRS Technologies demonstrated an Internet Protocol (IP) data connection from the cockpit of an F/A-18 jet fighter to a ground network. Under a contract with the U.S. Navy Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command and Program Executive Office for C4I, the companies used a ViaSat Multifunctional Information Distribution System LVT(1) terminal modified to provide IP communications to and from an onboard DRS Airborne Tactical Server (ATS). In the test conducted at Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division, China Lake, Calif., the aircrew used an Advanced Technology Forward-Looking Infrared (AT-FLIR) camera to record video and transferred IP data files at rates in excess of 70 kbps, moving images of 35,000 bytes to the ground network. This configuration of a ViaSat terminal and a DRS ATS replaces the Solid State Recorder typically installed in the F/A-18, providing the same video, audio and data recording functions and adding a Microsoft Windows-compatible file server.

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