Xtar LLC completed the first field trials of the Space Systems/Loral-built Xtar-Eur satellite, placed on orbit at 29? East in February, Xtar announced.

The demonstration for the U.S. Army‘s 7th Signal Brigade, based in Mannheim, Germany, used a current military tactical ground AN/TSC-85C satellite communications terminal interfaced with a standard 16-foot U.S. Army Lightweight High-Gain X-band Antenna and an 8-foot tactical satellite antenna and related system components with minor upgrades.

Results of the demonstration illustrated the capabilities of Xtar, with throughput reaching 105 megabits per second, more than 12 times current capabilities.

“Xtar’s recent demonstrations in Germany have shown that the performance of the Xtar-Eur satellite far exceeds the current military DSCS (defense satellite communications system) satellites,” Xtar COO Denis Curtin, said in a statement. “Using a combination of high-power transponders aboard the Xtar-Eur and a few minor upgrades to the terminals, the trials were able to reach a data rate that eclipses anything that legacy systems are capable of transmitting.”

In other Xtar news, the company announced said May 11 that the U.S. Department of State‘s Diplomatic Telecommunications Service Program Office awarded the company a five-year contract to provide X-band communications services to U.S. embassies and consulates in Africa and Asia.

The contract, which carries a maximum value of $137 million, is the first for X-band services awarded to Xtar by the U.S. government.

Bernard Schwartz, Loral Space and Communications chairman and CEO, called the contract “an important milestone in validating Loral’s innovative investment in Xtar’s commercial X-band service model.”

Xtar is a joint venture between Loral and Spain’s Hisdesat.