Aalyria Tightbeam demonstration. Photo: Aalyria

Aalyria reported two technical milestones with its atmospheric laser communications technology, Tightbeam.

Aalyria reported demonstrating a 65-kilometer atmospheric optical link delivering sustained 100 Gbps speeds through real-world atmospheric conditions. The company said this marks a speed and distance combination that has never been sustained before in atmospheric conditions, comparing it to streaming 4,000 4k videos at once on top of Mount Everest.

“This achievement represents a fundamental advancement in overcoming atmospheric turbulence challenges that have historically limited free-space optical systems near Earth’s surface. This performance validates Tightbeam’s proprietary Atmospheric and Adaptive C.O.R.E. technologies, which actively correct signal distortions in real-time to deliver high speed transmissions over large distances,” the company explained. 

Aalyria also conducted a maritime demonstration at the Naval Research Laboratory in Chesapeake, Virginia which maintained optical lock and throughput on ship simulator gimbals, which simulated unpredictable motion caused by moving water. 

These demonstrations advance Aalyria’s contract with the Office of Naval Research and Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) to develop over-the-horizon connectivity to link together the Navy’s ships, airborne assets, and assets on the ground. Aalyria will deliver  Tightbeam terminals for installation on naval aircraft and other platforms.

In addition to the work with NRL, Aalyria said these demonstrations have applications for use cases like connecting remote islands and high-speed connectivity to planes and ships.