In
delivering the five hundredth unit of its VR-12 Ku-band airborne
ultra-small satellite communications antenna with integrated ArcLight
technology, ViaSat has achieved a new milestone in the military and
general aviation markets.
ViaSat
designed its VR-12 SATCOM antenna for service aboard aircraft that
could only accommodate onboard communications equipment limited in
size, weight, and power. Despite its compact size and light weight,
the VR-12 is capable of handling media-rich applications, which
require advanced broadband SATCOM capabilities.
Furthermore,
ViaSat designed a “hatch-mount” version of the VR-12 airframe
system. This version is an integrated antenna system and radome
package that can be dropped into the escape hatch of a C-130
transport aircraft.
Other
versions of the VR-12 installations are tail mounts for planes such
as the PC-12 (U-28) and commercial Gulfstreams, and a fuselage mount
used for MC-12W aircraft in government service.
According
to Paul Baca, the General Manager for ViaSat Global Mobile Broadband,
the VR-12 proves that larger antenna designs are not always the way
to go. GM Baca says that the ultra-small 30-centimeter aperture of
the VR-12 accomplished numerous successes in the installation of
Ku-band satellite communications systems. He explained that ViaSat
was designing a Ka-band antenna version of the VR-12 to handle
traffic from the growing number of Ka-band satellites.
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