Hughes Delivers 1st Shipment of HM400 Modems to General Atomics
Hughes Network Systems carried out the first shipments of its specialized, multiband HM400 SATCOM modems to General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI). These modems will power the beyond-line-of-sight communications for their next-generation Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) known as the MQ-9B SkyGuardian.
Customized to meet specific operational requirements, the specialized Hughes HM400 delivers satellite-based communications for remotely piloted aircraft, leveraging an open system architecture and software-definable modem and waveform technology. Supporting both military and commercial satellite frequencies, the fully integrated solution helps open up applications such as search and rescue or disaster response for Predator-variant aircraft.
“Hughes develops innovative technology to suit customer needs and, in this case, our HM400 was customized for GA-ASI’s resilient communications-on-the-move requirements for their SkyGuardian RPA,” said Hughes Defense and Intelligence Systems Division (DISD) Vice President (VP) and General Manager Rick Lober. “We’re excited to be part of GA-ASI’s team and starting the delivery of HM400 units for their next-generation platform.”