“Revolutionizing Aerial Connectivity: GA-ASI, SES, and Hughes Showcase Next-Gen SATCOM on MQ-9B SkyGuardian”
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), SES, and Hughes Network Systems (HUGHES) collaborated successfully to exhibit multi-orbit satellite communications (SATCOM) utilizing a GA-ASI-provided MQ-9B SkyGuardian® Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA). This exhibition occurred on Oct. 20, 2022, at GA-ASI’s Desert Horizon flight operations facility in El Mirage, California. The enhanced data rate SATCOM transmission showcased SES’s multi-orbit satellite communication service, capitalizing on high-throughput, low-latency Medium Earth Orbit (MEO), and Geostationary (GEO) fleet, powered by a Hughes HM series software-defined modem along with the Hughes Resource Management System.
“This exhibition exemplifies the significance of next-gen SATCOM for operators of our aircraft,” stated GA-ASI Senior Vice President for MQ-9 Systems, Fred Darlington. “As we advance into more sophisticated payloads for our RPA, we will necessitate higher data rates that deliver the bandwidth, security, and robustness to operate our sensors effectively.”
The demonstration employed SES’s O3b MEO system, which offers fiber-like carrier-grade performance and scalability, paving the way for extensively leveraging open architectures and achieving network sovereignty. This system revealed how unmanned aircraft, such as the GA-ASI MQ-9 series, can sustain high-demand, mission-critical connectivity and resilience, even amid contested settings. Throughout the demonstration, the connectivity service transitioned seamlessly between O3b MEO and AMC-15 GEO satellites. Later this year, SES plans to launch its second-generation MEO system, O3b mPOWER, to further enhance governmental support through unparalleled performance, waveform-agnostic service, and facilitating network sovereignty.
“We take pride in the partnership cultivated over the years between SES, GA-ASI, and their governmental clients. Innovation serves as the cornerstone for supporting transformative changes in ISR services, and this demonstration highlights how the industry can collaborate effectively to deliver exceptional solutions to market,” expressed Will Tong, Vice President of Strategic Government Initiatives and head of the Aero ISR market at SES. “In partnership with GA-ASI, we successfully validated new standards of secure, adaptable, and high-performance multi-orbit services for ISR, achieving tenfold performance on a considerably smaller form factor, with enhanced resilience and security for the end-users.”
Integrated onto the MQ-9B, the military-grade Hughes HM System modem (HM400) powered the MEO and GEO SATCOM with Low-Probability of Intercept/Low Probability of Detection (LPI/LPD) modes, providing the needed resilience in congested and competitive environments. Additionally, the Hughes Resource Management System enabled the HM400 to automatically optimize and switch satellite signals effortlessly within seconds, showcasing near real-time capabilities that augment the military’s Primary Alternative Contingency Emergency (PACE) planning.
“Having collaborated with General Atomics for numerous years, we are thrilled to back the MQ-9B initiative with the commercial-grade Hughes HM400 modem incorporated as the standard for real-time communications for beyond line of sight mission scenarios,” remarked Rick Lober, Vice President and General Manager, Hughes Defense. “In synergy with the Hughes Resource Management System, the frequency-agnostic, open architecture HM System enables GA-ASI to meet their military clients’ needs for continuous, high data rate, multi-orbit SATCOM, guaranteeing secure information accessibility for the right personnel at the correct time.”
