Hughes Unveils New HM Satellite System for Government Mobility and Portability Applications

Hughes recently unveiled the new HM System, engineered around its novel software-definable modem (SDM) technology and scrambled code multiple access (SCMA) waveform. Employing a commercially based, open standards architecture, and frequency band-agnostic platform, the HM System enables highly resilient and affordable solutions to meet a wide variety of mobility and portability requirements for government users. Beyond fixed applications, it offers satellite-on-the-move capabilities for airborne, maritime, and land mobility, including a complete, ultra-compact and portable terminal for small teams reliant on quick-deploy connectivity. With the first gateway installed and fully operational in September 2015, the three commercial-off-the-shelf products are now ready for market roll-out.

“The basis of our new HM System is a novel advanced waveform technology with very low-rate coding and multiple access techniques,” said Rick Lober, vice president and general manager, Defense and Intelligence Systems Division, Hughes. “Continuing the Hughes tradition of innovative satellite networking solutions, it utilizes advanced software-definable SCMA schemes enabling high-throughput, secure and efficient sharing of bandwidth, paving the way for government organizations to experience superior mobility and portability.”

Suitable applications for the HM System include intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance, border patrol, search and rescue, disaster response, wildfire monitoring, oil platform communications, cellular backhaul, and airborne beyondline- of-sight (BLOS) communications.

Three New HM System Product Solutions

The three HM System product solutions for government applications include:

HM100: Enterprise Application Modem—A universal rack-mounted hub that is transportable and offers high-throughput to support ground station SATCOM operations.

HM200: Satellite-on-the- Move (SOTM), Ruggedized Modem—A mobile, ruggedized modem for any communications- on-the-move scenario, with real-time situational awareness and BLOS capabilities. Target applications include land mobile, maritime, and airborne platforms. The HM200 offers faster acquisition time, low power requirement, carrier-in-carrier capabilities, MIL-SPEC connectors, internal power supply, and separate data and M&C ports. It also delivers the best data rates in the market for SATCOM through rotor blades and for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.

HM300: Ultra-Compact, Portable Terminal—An ultra-lightweight, man-packable communications solution that allows fast deployment and recovery while enabling up to 512 kbps of voice and data and is suitable for use in harsh environments. A complete terminal, the HM300, offers X-band communications with a small antenna footprint in a compact, low-power package. It reduces the requirement for large and heavy satellite communications kits and also achieves significant service cost savings when compared to L-band service alternatives. The HM300 is the portable terminal of choice for the XEBRA Service from Airbus Defence & Space.