[SatNews] Mobile satellite communications provider Inmarsat (LSE:ISAT.L), Honeywell Aerospace (NYSE: HON), and antenna development company Kymeta, are working together to develop a higher-speed, Ka-band wireless antenna, suitable to bring high quality, faster connectivity broadband services to smaller aircraft in the business aviation market. 

The lighter and more compact design will allow the antenna to be installed on a wider variety of aircraft, particularly smaller business aviation aircraft, whose tail is not large enough to carry a large antenna. The flat-panel design is lighter than existing tail-mounted options and will reduce weight and drag on the aircraft, in turn reducing fuel and maintenance costs. 

VP of Business Aviation, Inmarsat, Kurt Weidemeyer says, “This joint initiative is dedicated to the delivery of a truly ground-breaking solution in the field of satellite connectivity technology and will see the development of a revolutionary form of lightweight antenna for the business aviation market. Kymeta will deliver its mTenna™ antenna products to Honeywell, who will be responsible for testing and integrating the antenna into its JetWave aviation product line.”

JetWave is the family of satellite communications hardware that exclusively supports Inmarsat’s Jet ConneX Aviation service using the GX Network.

Weidemeyer continued: “The exciting new antenna development is part of Inmarsat’s commitment to on-going innovation and investment to bring the best technology solutions to the market.

“We are investing in a road map of continuous improvement across multiple technical platforms. Along with investment in infrastructure, such as our GX network and the EU Aviation Network, we are always looking at new and emerging technologies that we can leverage to bring benefits to our customers. 

“Our philosophy is to be as nimble and agile as possible to market needs; enabling us to respond to opportunities in which we can adopt or introduce new technologies that enhance our services and deliver a true value proposition to the market.

“This will be the first truly flat-panel antenna for aviation, which will offer great performance at the right price. The relationship between Honeywell and Kymeta has taken a great technology and turned it into a product ideal for aviation.”

Referring to the forthcoming service launch of the GX Aviation network, Weidemeyer said, “Inmarsat has a proven history of delivering trusted, reliable and robust safety communications to the cockpit. We’re applying this knowledge to our GX network and to JetConneX, our business aviation solution, making us the right provider to take business aviation forward into the world of high-speed connectivity.