Viasat, Inc., won a $33.6 million contract with the U.S. Air Force to develop and deliver Active Electronically Scanned Array systems to enable resilient satellite communications for tactical aircraft, including rotary wing platforms.
The contract includes options from the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory under the Defense Experimentation Using Commercial Space Internet program.
The DEUCSI program supports commercial satellite connectivity and services and addresses the federal need for resilient communications with a hybrid network that can leverage different frequencies, orbits and providers.
Viasat will use its commercial AESA technology and extensive integration and radio frequency integrated circuits expertise to develop a new phased array antenna that can deliver greater flexibility and reliability to meet changing mission requirements and demands for resilient communications.
Under the contract, Viasat will deliver a high-performance, low size, weight and power AESA antenna that can support communications for tactical aircraft by enabling connections across different frequencies, orbits and commercial networks, the company said.
“Viasat has extensive expertise supporting development of AESA phased array antenna technology across domains and we’re excited to bring that experience to the DEUCSI program,” said Michael Maughan, vice president of space and mission systems for Viasat Government.
“We believe hybrid resilient communication solutions are central to future government mobility operations and our teams are committed to continuing to help solve these multi-band, multi-orbit, multi-constellation interoperability challenges with high performance, cost-effective capabilities.”
Following previous awards announced in August 2023, Viasat received phased array antenna technology development contracts across land, maritime, space and airborne applications.