Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) announced the successful flight testing of a new airborne satellite communications system, part of a network that will “significantly enhance communications capabilities for warfighters.”
According to the firm, “This represents the first airborne terminal system to be certified for connection to the Wideband Global Satellite (WGS). The flight test used the communications terminal system installed on a modified business jet aircraft to connect with a WGS via the Ka-band link. The test – which measured terminal performance including high data rates – is the second of three phases required to certify the airborne communications system for WGS operations.”
“This is a tremendous step forward in realizing the objective of a redundant, robust and multi-layered approach to airborne communications and ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) dissemination that our senior leaders and warfighters deserve. It was really a superb joint effort involving close Army, Navy and Air Force cooperation and partnerships throughout the test phases, ” said Craig Lucas, program director for the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center (CERDEC).
