RAF Regiment Soldier Silhouetted in Afghanistan with Chinook Helicopter. Photo: U.K. MoD, available under an Open Government License.

[Via Satellite 07-08-2016] The U.K. Ministry of Defence has renewed a contract worth $20.4 million (£15.7 million) with Airbus Defence and Space to provide the core WelComE welfare service to the U.K. Armed Forces until August 2022. WelComE services enable communications for service personnel. More than 132,000 service personnel have used the service, making more than 500 million minutes of calls.

Airbus Defence and Space has been providing WelComE services to the UK MoD for 16 years, including delivering welfare communications in a number of operational environments. The service has evolved and expanded over the years from the provision of satellite phones and associated facilities to full Wi-Fi services and video calling on operational bases.