Viasat installs tactical terminal in USMC AV-8B Harrier II aircraft
NewsJuly 10, 2018
CARLSBAD, Calif. Officials at Viasat Inc. announced the 1,000th KOR-24A Small Tactical Terminal (STT) production unit shipped with the latest one installed in the U.S. Marine Corps AV-8B Harrier II attack aircraft. In addition to shipping the 1,000th production unit, Viasat is steadily increasing production deliveries to 50 per month in response to growing market demand.
The STT is a multichannel radio capable of performing Link 16 communications in a small form factor, and includes interoperable functionality to improve communications between U.S. and international coalition partners' military agencies requiring critical information from multiple networks. It is a software-defined radio (SDR), which will be capable of more modern Very High Frequency (VHF) or Ultra High Frequency (UHF) waveforms as they become available.
Ken Peterman, president, Government Systems, Viasat, says "Given current backlog, continued interest and pending orders by both U.S. and international defense customers, we are steadily increasing production run rates and additionally establishing a surge capacity in order to meet increased demand and provide warfighters with a robust connectivity solution at the tactical edge."
Recent updates to the STT include the introduction of an improved frequency oscillator to enable STT platforms to operate beyond line of sight (BLOS) from other Link 16 platforms, new software features that enable higher useable data rates when communicating in enhanced throughput modes. Moving forward, STTs will roll-out of a software-only upgrade to address cryptographic modernization by the end of 2019.
