REDMOND, Wash. - Kymeta Corp. has received a $20 million order from an unidentified U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) organization for more than 100 Osprey u8 flat-panel satellite communications terminals and associated multi-orbit connectivity services, the company announced.
The order includes Kymeta Broadband services providing access to geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) and low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite networks, as well as transmission-security (TRANSEC) and non-TRANSEC connectivity. Kymeta did not identify the military branch receiving the equipment.
The Osprey u8 is a full-duplex, single-aperture Ku-band flat-panel antenna that uses electronically steered holographic beamforming. The terminal has an 89.5-by-89.5-centimeter footprint, is 15 centimeters high, and weighs 49.4 kilograms. It accepts 12- to 36-volt DC input and has typical steady-state power consumption of 130 watts in LEO operation and 190 watts in GEO operation. The terminal is specified for operation from minus 46 to 55 degrees Celsius and has IP66 ingress protection and MIL-STD-810 and MIL-STD-1275 compliance.
Related: OneWeb and Kymeta demonstrate commercial SATCOM tech aboard Navy carrier USS Abraham Lincoln
The Osprey u8 supports multi-orbit and multi-network configurations using embedded and external modems. Kymeta's current product information describes connectivity through GEO, LEO, and cellular networks, as well as field-swappable modem cartridges and external modem interfaces. The company's U.S. DoD connectivity package combines Ku-band GEO, OneWeb Technologies LEO, GEO TRANSEC and cellular services.
Keep up the PACE
Kymeta says the Osprey u8 supports a primary, alternate, contingency, and emergency, or PACE, communications approach and can provide automated path diversity among available networks. The company also is developing AutoPACE capabilities intended to automate switching among connectivity sources.
The order follows a March procurement notice from the Department of the Air Force for the 1st Combat Communications Squadron. The 700th Contracting Squadron at Kapaun Air Station in Germany announced March 26 its intent to award Kymeta Government Solutions a single-source, firm-fixed-price contract for 10 Osprey u8 terminals and a one-year service agreement. The requirement was intended to provide on-the-move communications and broadband capability across Europe and Africa.
The Air Force notice specified 3 terabytes per year of combined LEO and GEO data for the 10-terminal requirement, with GEO service at 5 by 2 megabits per second and LEO service at 100 by 20 megabits per second. The notice said the 1st Combat Communications Squadron had previously used Kymeta's system and that the proposed single-source procurement was based in part on the terminal's embedded technology and the unit's prior operational experience.
The March notice does not establish that the Air Force is the customer for Kymeta's newly announced $20 million order. Kymeta said only that the new order is from a DoD branch and that its 2026 deliveries to that branch will exceed $30 million in terminals and connectivity services.
