The VISLINK Law Enforcement & Public Safety (LE&PS) business unit has announced that Spanish Unidad Militar de Emergencias (UME) has ordered three further ADVENT 1.5m X Band NewSwift antenna systems to add to the 17 1.5m NewSwift mobile satellite terminals ordered previously. These will be supplied by leading IT and defence system supplier INDRA.

Part of the Spanish army, the highly specialised UME unit was formed in October 2005 to provide the first line of response to national emergencies. This initial contract award involved a new design of fast deployment mobile satellite terminal, with INDRA and ADVENT completing the project in under four months. Key elements of the project's specification included an easy to use system that could be operational in the shortest possible time, removing any need for complex configuration. INDRA was the natural choice for this initial and subsquent contracts with UME, as INDRA is responsible for developing and installing the Spanish Army's SECOMSAT system. SECOMSAT incorporates two hub stations and more than 300 terminals, including fly away, tactical, marine installations and software for the management network. The UME contract represents a natural progression from INDRA's existing project for the Spanish Army.

VISLINK was selected by INDRA on the basis of its ability to deliver a top quality, customized solution within an extremely tight timescale, matched by competitive pricing and specialist technical support facilities. Each of the UME's mobile terminals incorporates a monitoring and control system that can be managed remotely from UME Headquarters through the Torrejón de Ardoz (near to Madrid) Hub station, and uses ADVENT's motorised NewSwift antenna system. This highly compact integrated satellite terminal system features a specially shaped offset fed antenna that is manufactured in carbon fibre for strength and portability. It is configured for X-band with Voice over IP (VoIP) for baseband data and voice.