EMS Defense & Space to supply high-bandwidth SATCOM antenna for Army RC-12 Guardrail surveillance aircraft

NORCROSS, Ga., 3 March 2011.Military communications experts at Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) in McLean, Va., needed an X-band satellite communications (SATCOM) antenna system for the U.S. military RC-12 reconnaissance aircraft. They found their solution from EMS Defense & Space in Norcross, Ga.Satellite antenna designers at EMS Defense & Space will provide SAIC with an X-band SATCOM antenna system by converting the EMS Wavestorm GS-X antenna to an airborne version called the Wavestorm AS-X. The RC-12 aircraft is a military version of the Beechcraft Super King Air 200 twin-engine turboprop.EMS will provide SAIC with the slot array antenna aperture, antenna control unit, positioner, RF electronics, autonomous navigation and stabilization, and installation support. The amount of SAIC's contract to EMS Defense & Space was not disclosed.

EMS engineers developed the Wavestorm GS-X antenna as a ground-based SATCOM antenna to support wideband communications requirements for systems transmitting across X-band satellites such as XTAR, Skynet, and Wideband Global Satcom.

“We are very impressed with the performance of EMS’s antenna system,” says Michael Johnson, program manager at SAIC. “The antenna has undergone several demonstrations that prove it can exceed our data rate requirements and can be rapidly fielded by the military in support of urgent warfighter needs.”

The antenna’s low-profile slot-array technology is rugged and is designed for high-bandwidth data transmission for aircraft, surface ships, and land vehicles.

“We developed our X-band antenna system to meet the growing need for improvements in the transmission of ISR [intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance] data around the globe,” says Norm Johnson, vice president of business development at EMS Defense & Space.

EMS demonstrated the antenna system in the United Kingdom over the Skynet 5 satellite constellation by transmitting full-motion video at data rates as fast as 14 megabits per second. SAIC is scheduled to begin flying the Wavestorm AS-X on an RC-12 aircraft next month.

For more information contact EMS Defense & Space online at www.emsdss.com, or SAIC at www.saic.com.