Thales Land and Joint Systems of France will equip the four Ocean Patrol Vessels operated by the Dutch navy with Thales’ Surfsat satellite communications terminals, with installations to occur between 2010 and 2012, Thales announced Oct. 12. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Similar Surfsat gear is aboard ships in other NATO nations including France, Belgium and Norway. The satellite terminals will feature dual-band antennas to permit communications links in both the commercial Ku-band and the X-band frequencies used by military authorities.
Surfsat was developed for medium and large vessels, with antennas ranging in size from 1.9 meters to 2.6 meters in diameter. Thales said it is expanding the product line to include smaller antennas and the use of Ka- and EHF-band frequencies.
