Yahsat has announced that its dedicated government satellite service, YahSecure, has completed successful trials of U.S. Department of Defense’s (DoD) compatible Ka-band-capable terminals over the Y1A satellite, exploiting Yahsat’s steerable beam.
The tests reportedly confirm that the Yahsat satellites and ground systems can successfully accommodate and deliver highly secure transponded and gateway supported military Ka-band frequencies over U.S. DoD-compatible Ka-band terminals
The significance of the trials, the company claims, which were enabled by ARSTRAT Certified SwiftLink Ka-band terminals from TeleCommunication Systems Inc. (TCS) and primary coordinator Boeing Commercial Satellite Services (BCSS), confirm and bring assurance that the Yahsat satellites and ground systems can successfully accommodate and deliver highly secure transponded and gateway supported military Ka-band frequencies over U.S. DoD-compatible Ka-band terminals. This reportedly positions Yahsat as the only commercial satellite provider to have operationally proven its ability to deliver military Ka-band services to government entities in Africa, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
The testing, which took place between Yahsat’s headquarters in Abu Dhabi, UAE and another undisclosed location, utilising Yahsat’s steerable beam, was conducted on ARSTRAT certified Swiftlink 2.0 VSAT terminals bundled with iDirect Evolution modems operated by TCS. A number of test applications were successfully implemented, including VoIP, data and full-motion video running concurrently over a secure and encrypted satellite network.
Talking on the importance of the testings and successful outcome, Rashed Al Ghafri, YahSecure general manager, said: “The success of these tests is a momentous accomplishment, which show YahSecure can provide significant benefits to military operations across the region. The tests were comprehensive and the successful results are testament to the capabilities of Y1A’s state-of-the-art design and to its ability to adjust to changing mission requirements.”
Steve O’Neill, president of Boeing Satellite Systems International, said: “Boeing has been investigating the potential of commercial satellites to provide much-needed military satellite communications, and in 2011 we formed a unit, Boeing Commercial Satellite Services, charged with assisting commercial operators with entering into service agreements with the military. The significance of this demonstration is that existing terminals can be used with a variety of systems, which further widens the window of opportunity for commercial operators to support the military.”
Roger Seaton, vice president of integrated global solutions at TCS, said, “The testing with our industry partners at Yahsat and Boeing is part of TCS’ ongoing commitment to offer the latest technologies to the US DoD and their partners across the world. YahSecure offers a commercially available military Ka-band platform in a region of short supply and with few trusted options. TCS congratulates Yahsat on their successful trial, which demonstrated how our solid experience in providing satellite terminals, training and global support services to the U.S. government works seamlessly in the global marketplace.”
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