Thales wins contract for UHF satellite from U.K.

Thales Canada has been awarded a contract to supply the Canadian Navy with dedicated UHF satellite communication (SATCOM) omni-directional antennas for four of the Halifax-class frigates that are being converted to command ships. The QHASS (Quadrifilar Helix) antenna was developed by Thales UK’s underwater systems business in Templecombe, Somerset, specifically to provide enhanced low-angle performance in the UHF SATCOM frequency band. "For more than 40 years Thales has been a major provider of sensors and systems to the Canadian Navy, and a variant of this antenna has been in operation with the Navy on its Iroquois-class destroyers for five years,” says Paul Kahn, Thales Canada President and CEO. “With the selection of the QHASS antenna for the Halifax-class command platforms, our company continues its strong relationship with the Navy.” As a compact and relatively lightweight omni-directional antenna, the QHASS system can be easily installed onto any platform with no specific mounting or stabilization. The QHASS antenna pattern is matched to provide optimum link margin performance at all elevation angles and is considered to be the best omni-directional UHF SATCOM antenna currently available. Thales UK’s Templecombe facility designs, develops and manufactures radio frequency-based antennas, designed for submarines, surface ships and land vehicle platforms, ranging from Very Low Frequency to Extremely High Frequency, and has expertise in SATCOM and multi-function antenna systems.