A US Air Force satellite terminal has been successfully validated through a series of flight tests.
The tests on the family of advanced beyond-line-of-sight terminals (FAB-T) will enable the US defence forces to move large amounts of voice, data, imagery and video to and from ground and airborne platforms.
FAB-T will provide information to and from ground and airborne platforms over protected and wideband satellite communications and line-of-sight systems.
The system will also interoperate with all air force extremely-high-frequency (EHF) terminals as well as army and navy EHF terminals.
During the nine flight tests tests, the system was used to send and receive text, voice and data over operational military strategic and tactical relay satellites.
FAB-T team contractor Jeff Rattray said that one of many major successes of the flight test programme was demonstrating that the high-gain antenna can track the satellite during flight.
“Other significant accomplishments included several hours of link performance testing with zero bit errors, reception of test emergency action messages in flight and exercising the majority of the low data rates available on Milstar.”
The FAB-T will be installed in increments on various military platforms such as strategic and conventional bombers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft, special air mission aircraft and strategic airlift platforms to maintain connectivity with rear and deployed forces.
The first terminal of FAB-T was delivered to the B-2 Spirit programme in January 2009.
