Yahsat orders phased array antenna systems from Boeing

WASHINGTON, 27 March 2012. The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] has finalized a firm-fixed-price contract with Al Yah Satellite Company (Yahsat), a United Arab Emirates-based multipurpose satellite operator, to design and build active electronically steered phased array antenna systems for aircraft. The value of the contract has not yet been disclosed.

The small, Ka-band phased-array SATCOM antenna system allows customers to take advantage of the significant increase in bandwidth offered by next-generation Ka-band satellites to transport data from aircraft in flight to the ground network, and vice versa. Boeing developed these communications antenna technologies to improve the capability of platforms to remain networked while mobile.

Built upon heritage Ku-band systems that have been operational for more than a decade, Boeing's latest Ka-band phased array system uses electronically controlled beams to transmit and receive signals from Ka-band satellites.

The antennas are being designed in Kent, Wash., and will be produced at the Boeing Strategic Manufacturing Center in El Paso, Texas.