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Satnews Daily
March 26th, 2012

Boeing + Yahsat... Phased Approach For Aircraft (SATCOM)


[SatNews] The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] has finalized a firm-fixed-price contract with Al Yah Satellite Company (Yahsat), the United Arab Emirates-based multipurpose satellite operator, to design...

...and build active electronically steered phased array antenna systems for aircraft. The value of the contract is not being disclosed. The small, state-of-the-art Ka-band phased-array SATCOM antenna system allows customers to take advantage of the significant increase in bandwidth offered by next-generation Ka-band satellites to transport data from aircraft in flight to the ground network, and vice versa. Boeing developed these communications antenna technologies to improve the capability of platforms to remain networked while mobile. Aircraft operators will gain significant benefits from the low-profile, low-drag and easy-to-maintain antenna system. Built upon heritage Ku-band systems that have been operational for more than a decade, Boeing's latest Ka-band phased array system uses electronically controlled beams to transmit and receive signals from Ka-band satellites in a single, small, aerodynamic design. The antennas are being designed in Kent, Washington, and will be produced at the Boeing Strategic Manufacturing Center in El Paso, Texas.

Yahsat provides multipurpose satellite solutions (government and commercial) for broadband, broadcast, military and communications use across the Middle East, Africa and Southwest Asia. Based in Abu Dhabi and wholly owned by Mubadala, Yahsat is the first company in the Middle East and Africa to offer multipurpose satellite services:

    YahClick—satellite broadband service
    YahSecure—government satellite service
    YahLink—satellite connectivity service
    YahService—end-to-end satellite solutions
    YahCarrier—satellite solutions for telecommunications carriers
Yahsat's first satellite, Y1A, was successfully launched in April 2011. The company is preparing to launch its second satellite, Y1B, in April of this year.