Ka band aircraft communications testing

[Ian33]

http://www.airforce-magazine.com/MagazineArchive/Pages/2010/March%202010/WashingtonWatch.aspx

3/26/2010 - HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. -- A series of early March flight tests has validated a two-and-a-half year effort and set the course for significantly enhanced airborne communications capability.

A team of specialists from the Electronic Systems Center, MITRE Corporation and MIT Lincoln Laboratory used a 707 test bed aircraft to evaluate the transmission capabilities of a prototype waveform developed as part of the High Data Rate Airborne Terminal program, known as HDR-AT. It was the first time an airborne system has successfully accessed the high-capacity Ka-band portion of the new Wideband Global Satellites, which offer wider bandwidth and higher throughput than other military satellites.

This development is especially important for the "Global Hawk-class of unmanned aerial systems," which will be first in line for receiving the capability once it's been perfected and transferred to the defense industry, said Dr. Tom Macdonald of Lincoln Lab.

This pic is of a test flat fixed Ka band transmitter / reciever unit. Flat like this would be very good for signature management I would of thought. (I promise once I find the NASA link again I will post it).

 

[seruriermarshal]

Thanks Ian33 ,that's great news .

 

[saintkatanalegacy]

I'm more curious of what's inside that blue CD