[Satnews] Norsat International Inc. (“Norsat”) (TSX: NII and NYSE MKT: NSAT) announced the firm has been awarded a $2.7million contract from a major U.S. military contractor for its Ku-band and Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS)-certified X-Band marine VSAT terminals.
Under the agreement, Norsat will supply its MarineLink COM12 1.2m and MarineLink COM15X 1.5m dual antenna maritime VSAT terminals to support sea-borne communications. Norsat’s newest generation of MarineLink COM terminals provide the most reliable high throughput satellite communications available in the market today for maritime vessels, including naval ships. Additionally, Norsat’s proprietary Low Noise Block downconverters (LNB) and class-leading efficient ATOM Block Upconverters (BUC) will be integrated into the MarineLink terminals.
The Norsat MarineLink COM15.
Both the COM12 and COM15X include Norsat’s latest technical upgrades such as heavy-duty industrial grade motors, advanced high-speed acceleration and braking, high gain and low-loss antenna and RF filter chain, and conformance to military standards for high impact shock, vibration, and Electromagnetic Compatibility (MIL-STD-901D, MIL-STD-167, MIL-STD-461 for EMC). In addition, the COM15X will be officially going through ARSTRAT’s WGS certification process. WGS certification gives the COM15X permission to operate on the high-capacity WGS satellite constellation controlled and operated by the U.S. government. Due to ARSTRAT’s WGS certification timing requirements, Norsat expects to begin delivery on the MarineLink terminals in Q4 2016.
Executive Comment
Dr. Amiee Chan, president and chief executive officer of Norsat, said, “The reliability of our products in remote and challenging environments, such as maritime operations, continues to be a significant market opportunity for Norsat. This contract complements our expanding backlog of satellite orders and improves upon our long-term visibility. This, and other recently awarded contracts, reveals that our continuous investment in R&D has yielded innovations that enable our off-the-shelf terminals to be easily customized for both military and commercial markets worldwide. We believe there are additional opportunities that lie ahead for us in this market.”