Hughes Expands Rotary Wing SATCOM Capabilities

Up to 10 Mbps Speeds, More Integrated Operations to Better Meet the Mission

Germantown, MD /PRNewswire/ -- Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES), the global leader in broadband satellite solutions and services, today announced a significant advancement in rotary wing Beyond-Line-of-Sight (BLOS) SATCOM capabilities by successfully demonstrating data throughputs of up to 10 Mbps through rotor blades and over geostationary satellites to a remote HUB.  

With five times greater throughput than its first release in March 2013, the advanced Hughes communications-on-the-move (COTM) microsat system is capable of transmitting critical video and other sensor data that was not previously possible when exceeding the range limitation of traditional line-of-sight systems. The increased speeds were recently demonstrated in-flight on an aircraft with government customers and industry partners present. This advanced capability can be adapted to various rotary platforms to enable critical intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) data transmission ranges previously not attainable.

"Hughes delivers a system level solution, including the core modem and antenna technology together with worldwide Ka or Ku-band connectivity through its satellite managed services network," said Rick Lober, vice president and general manager of Hughes Defense and Intelligence Systems Division.  "We continue to improve speeds and testing with additional systems and antennas, resulting in a truly agile, flexible option for government, military, and commercial customers."

Employing advanced waveform technology, the Hughes rotary wing system enables seamless transmissions through rotor blades over both Ka and Ku-band satellite channels with zero packet loss. The solution operates with a variety of commercially-available airborne antennas on government, military and commercial platforms, facilitating integration with existing systems for strategic ISR and tactical operations. 

The Hughes rotary wing system is based on the company's advanced HX satellite broadband platform, which meets the Federal Information Processing (FIPS) 140-2, Level 2 encryption standard and meets Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) requirements.

To learn more, visit http://defense.hughes.com/solutions-and-services/tactical-satcom-systems/airborne.

About Hughes Network Systems
Hughes Network Systems, LLC (Hughes) is the world's leading provider of satellite broadband for home and office, delivering innovative network technologies, managed services, and solutions for enterprises and governments globally. HughesNet® is the #1 high-speed satellite Internet service in the marketplace, with offerings to suit every budget. To date, Hughes has shipped more than 3.3 million systems to customers in over 100 countries, representing over 50 percent market share. Its products employ global standards approved by the TIA, ETSI and ITU organizations, including IPoS/DVB-S2, RSM-A, and GMR-1.

Headquartered outside Washington, D.C., in Germantown, Maryland, USA, Hughes operates sales and support offices worldwide, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ: SATS), a premier global provider of satellite operations and digital TV solutions. For additional information about Hughes, please visit www.hughes.com.

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