Lisbon, Portugal – Tekever, a global aerospace and defence company, announced the successful deployment of the Tekever UAV AR5 over Portugal’s west coast, using satellite communications services developed in the framework of the European Space Agency (ESA) programme aimed at developing Pooling and Sharing systems.
Known as PACIS-1, the project was deployed by the consortium led by SES’s wholly owned subsidiary SES Techcom. SES Techcom’s ISR demonstration in Portugal was enabled by the company’s high-performance managed satellite communications service which seamlessly integrated the ecosystem partners’ capabilities.
As part of the demo, Get SAT’s innovative multi-orbit terminal supported the mission requirements needed at a low SWaP (Size, Weight and Power) to complete the mission. Once airborne, the terminal was activated for the Beyond Radio Line of Sight mission, with SES’s ubiquitous coverage via satcom providing connectivity for the flight. Tekever’s AR5 UAV live streamed HD video and collected data from the Maritime Moving Target Indicator (MMTI), video footage, and electro-optical/infra-red (EO/IR).
“As part of the PACIS-1 project with ESA, we brought together an ecosystem of partners to develop the Pooling and Sharing System that benefits governmental and institutional end users, giving them access to top of the range defence and civil capabilities in the most efficient way, anytime they need it,” says Alan Kuresevic, managing director at SES Techcom.
“The demonstration we held in Portugal showcased a seamless high-performance ISR service that integrates partner capabilities and that is enabled via a satellite communications network. Through access to SES’s multi-orbit fleet, more of secure and resilient communications on the move can be enabled, ensuring reach for all types of critical operations, whether in the air, at sea or on land.”
“We are very glad to take part of the multiple end user satellite service demonstrations conducted during this project and contribute to showcase the benefits of Pooling and Sharing systems”, says Ricardo Mendes, Tekever CEO. “They truly enhance Tekever AR5 performance and address the needs of European governments for simple and easy access to secure satellite communications that can leverage their existing operational capabilities in areas such as civil protection and maritime surveillance”.
“We were pleased with the resiliency and beam switching demonstrated during this deployment”, says Kfir Benjamin, CEO at Get SAT. “During the course of the mission the Get SAT terminal provided the necessary throughput and demonstrated its multiple-satellite support capabilities”.
The PACIS-1 project led by SES Techcom is intended to provide Governments and Institutions with secure services over different governmental and commercial satellites and across several frequency bands. Once fully operational, the PACIS-1 project will offer users guaranteed service access, so they can quickly communicate anytime, anywhere.
Get SAT offers compact, all-in-one, innovative, multi-band SATCOM solutions that are deployable on platforms across sea, land and airborne operational environments. Get SAT units operate on both GEO and MEO satellite constellations and support seamless data transfer over satellite links. For the demo in Portugal, the Get SAT Milli SAT H LW KU band with 55W BUC terminal secured a link within three minutes.
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