Hughes HM200 Named Top Aeronautical Mobility Innovation of 2017

MSUA Awards Hughes Defense’s Airborne SATCOM Capability at SATELLITE 2017 Conference

Germantown, MD— Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES), the global leader in broadband satellite networks and services, announced that its HM200 Modem has been selected by the Mobility Satellite Users Association (MSUA) for the 2017 Top Aeronautical Mobility SATCOM Innovation Award. The winners were announced on March 7, 2017, at SATELLITE 2017 in Washington DC during the MSUA Mobility Innovation Luncheon.

The award recognizes an MSUA member that is leading the way in developing innovative satellite mobility solutions. The HM200 enables manned and unmanned aircraft to provide a constant and reliable feed of HD video and other critical real-time data, ensuring airborne users can maintain situational awareness on missions across the globe. The solution is ideal for Beyond-Line-of-Sight (BLoS) connectivity requirements as the Hughes HM200 modem paired with lightweight antenna(s) deliver data from the airborne platform to stations anywhere in the world.

To overcome the issue of transmission and signal loss on rotary platforms, Hughes designed the HM200 Modem to employ a specialized waveform enhancement for secure BLoS connectivity and high-speed data transfers with zero packet loss, even when transmitting through rotating blades. Named the Hughes HeloSat Solution, it leverages the HM200 with two lightweight antennas to support applications such as intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), search and rescue and disaster response.

“Enabling efficient, real-time airborne communications is critical to the defense market,” said Rick Lober, vice president and general manager of Hughes Defense. “We are honored to be recognized by the MSUA for the high standards we strive to achieve in delivering next-generation airborne SATCOM to the armed forces.”

The innovative HM200 Modem was completed in 2015 and a key partner in its development was Kontron. They produced the ruggedized enclosure and embedded platform for the integrated solution, ensuring its low size, weight, and power (SWaP) requirements satisfies end-user requirements for high reliability, especially in harsh environments.