ThinKom ThinAir® Ka2517 phased array is displayed with clouds in the background..

Press Release: ThinKom Ka2517 selected for MQ-4C Triton testbed

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Press Release hub banner blue with title in red white and blueThinKom Solutions, Inc. today announced that Northrop Grumman has specified a ThinAir Ka2517 phased-array satellite antenna to provide beyond-line-of-sight (BLOS) connectivity for its MQ-4C Triton flying test bed (FTB).

Northrop Grumman uses a twin-engine Gulfstream IV as an FTB for the U.S. Navy’s MQ-4C Triton autonomous high-altitude, long-endurance maritime surveillance system. The FTB is outfitted with the core mission payload capabilities that are on the Triton unmanned aircraft and is used to demonstrate current capabilities, provide risk reduction for new capabilities and serve as a developmental test bed for emerging capabilities.

Based on ThinKom’s patented VICTS* technology, the Ka2517 is a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) wideband satellite antenna system, which provides global pole-to-pole in-flight connectivity with extremely high throughput rates using military and commercial Ka-band satellite networks. Ka2517s are operational on hundreds of commercial airliners and military aircraft with industry-leading MTBF metrics.

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“The Ka2517 antenna is modem- and network-agnostic, enabling voice, data and streaming video with seamless interoperability on GEO and NGSO constellations. It also has the RF performance to operate effectively using frequency-hopping protected waveforms and supports industry-leading low probability of intercept (LPI) and low probability of detection (LPD) requirements,” said Bill Milroy, CTO and chairman of ThinKom.

Initial flights of the Triton FTB with the ThinKom antenna are expected to take place in the second quarter of 2022.

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About ThinKom Solutions, Inc.

ThinKom Solutions, Inc. is a leading provider of innovative, highly affordable, compact broadband multi-beam antennas and products for aeronautical, vehicular, user terminal, gateway, satellite and man-portable applications. The company’s primary products uniquely enable near-term worldwide availability of high-data-rate connectivity across all major satellite communication frequency bands. ThinKom offers a range of reliable, proven technology solutions for the consumer, enterprise, first responder, civil, military and intelligence communities.

Featured image credited to ThinKom Solutions