Viasat, MDA to Expand Link 16 Capabilities in Canada

Viasat Link 16. Photo: Viasat

Viasat, in partnership with MDA, a Maxar Technologies company, plan to establish a repair, maintenance, and upgrade service facility for Viasat’s Link 16 military communication terminals in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

The Halifax facility will be strategically located near the largest east coast bases of the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) and Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), which will help allow Viasat and MDA to provide enhanced technical support for Viasat’s Small Tactical Terminals (STT) and other small, next-generation Link 16 devices. This support will include everything from software upgrades and crypto modernization initiatives, to retrofitting Multifunctional Information Distribution System Low Volume Terminal (MIDS-LVT) Block Upgrade 2 devices for critical RCN and RCAF platforms; including Halifax class frigates and Aurora aircraft, among others.

Viasat already provides Link 16 tactical data links with a broad portfolio of terminal configurations and form factors in the industry. Viasat’s tactical Link 16 radio communications systems aims to provide U.S. and international allied warfighters with greater situational awareness by exchanging digital data over a common communication link that is continuously and automatically updated in real-time.