[Satnews] Cobham SATCOM announces the first call has been made using the company's AVIATOR 200S system over Inmarsat’s SwiftBroadband satellite communications service.
The ‘on air’ milestone represents a significant step forward in making AVIATOR 200S—the first of several upcoming solutions in the AVIATOR S Series product range—available for airlines and coincides with the anticipated approval of Inmarsat’s new generation SwiftBroadband-Safety service in 2016. The on-air voice call was achieved using the AVIATOR 200S CSDU (Compact Satellite Data Unit) and HELGA (combined HLD and Enhanced LGA) antenna over the Inmarsat LDR (Low Data Rate) bearer type.
Carried out in a laboratory environment, the breakthrough represents a significant step forward in the development of the system and was notable as:
- The first voice call through an AVIATOR 200S CSDU
- The first IP data session through an AVIATOR 200S CSDU
- The first ever voice and data calls through a HELGA antenna
- The first ever voice and data calls through a Class 4 Radio Module
- The first ever voice and data calls over LDR bearers
The ground-breaking AVIATOR S Series provides SATCOM solutions for the airline fleet of tomorrow for the purpose of Air Traffic Control (ATC) and Aircraft Operation Control (AOC). Using SwiftBroadband safety services to transmit ACARS data, AVIATOR S Series enables secure data communication, IP connectivity and multiple voice capabilities. The combination of IP and ACARS data pipes allows network integration with a portfolio of data housing and transmitting components on the aircraft such as cockpit, Electronic Flight Bag devices (EFB), onboard maintenance computers and devices used by the crew to service passengers. Smaller, lighter and more cost-effective than current sat com systems, AVIATOR 200S reduces the number of LRUs on the aircraft from 4 to 2.
Executive Comments
Kim Gram, vice president of Cobham SATCOM’s aeronautical business unit, said, “This is another important milestone in the evolution of our game-changing AVIATOR S Series, allowing airlines to e-enable their fleet with a previously unseen versatile and economic SATCOM solution. The first call is particularly significant as it represents a new solution running on a new service—a double first. Our teams in Lyngby and Cape Town have worked hard to achieve this impressive landmark. This is a very big step towards our first customer shipment, and shows that we are on track for release of AVIATOR 200S as planned. We believe the significantly smaller, lighter and easier to install hardware associated with the SwiftBroadband ACARS data services, represented by our AVIATOR S series product range, will provide aircraft manufacturers and airlines with a route towards significant changes in operational efficiencies and, not least, in flight situation awareness and safety.”
Mary McMillan, vice president of aviation safety and operational services at Inmarsat, said, “We congratulate our partner Cobham SATCOM on the achievement represented by the first successful call. Powered by Inmarsat’s SwiftBroadband – Safety, the AVIATOR 200S represents a major advancement of SATCOM technology and, together, provide the next generation aviation safety communications platform for the global aviation community.”
