Cobham and Inmarsat launch new solution

Cobham Aerospace Communications (Cobham) and Inmarsat, global provider of mobile satellite communications, have announced the launch of their SB-Helo X-StreamTM helicopter satcom solution for Cobham AVIATOR Special Purpose (SP) systems – an advancement which will improve communications through rotor blades by reducing packet loss by up to 40 per cent.

The development enables helicopters to transmit data such as video imagery to a satellite network through rotor blades, which benefits helicopters operating in remote locations that need to transmit video imagery beyond line of sight, such as those working in military and search and rescue (SAR) missions. The increased resilience of the data pipeline passing through the rotors means that the transmission of high intensity data, such as video, will see an improvement in throughput of around 37 per cent.

Inmarsat and Cobham have developed a protocol in network Quality of Service (QoS) selection, as an enhancement of the SwiftBroadband X-StreamTM service; one of Inmarsat’s streaming services offering guaranteed on-demand high-streaming data rates over its L-band network. The software is also free of charge.

Todd McDonell, President of Global Government at Inmarsat, said: “We are very happy to announce the availability of the SB-Helo X-Stream, an enhancement of the Inmarsat X-Stream service that meets the needs of this growing sector of the government market in an efficient and cost-effective way. Having worked with Cobham in the development of this new protocol, we are very pleased with the results we have seen from the trials and foresee that this cost-effective solution will be greatly sought after in the growing government helo market.”

Vice-President of Sales, Marketing and Support at Cobham Aerospace Communications Willem Kasselman added: “The partnership between Cobham Aerospace Communications and Inmarsat is an important one for us and we look forward to building on this announcement and expanding and improving other related services over the coming months.”