Overwatch Tactical Operations, an operating unit of Textron Systems, a Textron Inc. company (NYSE: TXT), has announced their Communication Systems business area has received an award from Thales - France to provide five sets of Ka/Ku multiband satellite communications (SATCOM) antennas for use on the Royal Norwegian Navy’s Nansen-class frigates.

This advanced Ka/Ku multiband solution minimizes the required amount of deck space, which is at a premium, by combining the functionality of two antennas into a single antenna that provides maximum operational flexibility through remotely reconfigurable frequency band control. Partnering with key vendors including Pacific Radome and the Microwave Components Group of Cobham Sensor Systems, Overwatch Tactical Operations antenna multiband solution will be integrated into Thales’s sea-proven SURFSAT naval SATCOM family of products to provide unmatched performance for the Royal Norwegian Navy. The antenna design is based upon Overwatch Tactical Operations’ patented feed and lens technology. Using a field-proven coaxial cavity design for individual frequency bands produces a feed which provides separate, electrically isolated outputs for each band in the desired polarization orientation. In conjunction with the basic feed design, a patented lens technology is used to focus the feed based on the antenna aperture (shape and size) to meet the gain and efficiency requirements.