Canada Takes Delivery Of Airborne SatComs

Astrium has successfully completed testing AirPatrol, the next-generation airborne satcom terminal, and has commenced flight trials with the Canadian Department of National Defense as part of its Radar and Imaging for the Land Littoral Environment (RIFL2E) coastal surveillance. The Airborne sitcom has been qualified for operation in a robust environment and is installed on board a Convair CV-580 aircraft and can deliver broadband providing real time, high resolution imagery for Canadian coastal surveillance. Aidan Joy, Executive Director of Astrium Services’ Satcom Systems & Solutions, said, “This is a key milestone for our airborne sitcom program. We have achieved airborne qualification and airframe integration, and excellent results in early flight testing with the system achieving a transmission data rate of over 11 Mbps while accurately tracking the satellite via the beacon receiver”. The RIFL2E was designed to enhance the coastal surveillance and support the Canadian northern sovereignty project. The system represents the latest in a series of significant developments for Astrium Services’ airborne satellite communications business. The AirPatrol terminal, together with Astrium Services’ Skynet X-band satellite capacity, will enable the DND to evaluate the operational capability of their airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance test platform and is designed for military and government customers who need high rate transmission of the sensor data. The modular system is flexible enough to integrate onto fixed, rotary and unmanned platforms.