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Satnews Daily
March 13th, 2020

Wideband Global SATCOM Certification Received by ST Engineering iDirect's Newtec Modem


ST Engineering iDirect, a company of ST Engineering North America, has reported that the firm's Newtec MDM9000 modem has received Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) Certification.

This expands the company's portfolio of WGS-certified solutions, which include the iDirect Evolution Defense platform, Tactical Hub and 9-Series family of modems.


ST Engineering iDirect's Newtec MDM9000 modem.

Designed to support a wide range of fixed and mobile government and defense applications, the field-proven MDM9000 modem is now one of the most powerful DVB-S2X modems operating on the WGS constellation. Its flexibility and efficiency open up new capabilities for high-speed data links, complementing existing WGS-certified Evolution Defense solutions.

The MDM9000 is ideal for aggregating data – from sensor data to video footage – to be sent back to a central location, as well as any other applications requiring point-to-point, dedicated links. In addition, its bulk encryption module provides 256-bit AES link encryption on both content and management layers to provide the security that is paramount in military operations.


Artistic rendition of a WGS satellite.

The WGS system is a constellation of highly capable military communications satellites used by the United States of Department of Defense (DoD), Canada Department of National Defence, Australian Department of Defence, as well as other partner countries.

As the backbone of the U.S. military's global satellite communications, WGS provides flexible, high-capacity communications for the nation's war fighters through procurement and operation of the satellite constellation and the associated control systems. WGS provides worldwide flexible, high data rate and long-haul communications for war fighters, government agencies, and international partners.

This WGS certification highlights ST Engineering iDirect’s ability to provide the highest quality levels of design, development, production, delivery, installation, and maintenance of information and communications technology products, including hardware, software and services.

The MDM9000 modem, along with the entire ST Engineering iDirect portfolio, was showcased at SATELLITE 2020..

Koen Willems, Head of International Government Satcom at ST Engineering iDirect, said the latest WGS certification marks another significant milestone in the firm's efforts to deliver military-grade communications solutions which can provide the bandwidth, flexibility and security required by global militaries to carry out missions successfully and reliably. The company is proud that the modem has passed the stringent evaluation and testing of the certification process and can join ST Engineering iDirect's vast portfolio of accredited government and defense solutions.