WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory awarded Viasat a $33.6 million contract to develop advanced satellite communications antennas for military aircraft, the company announced Sept. 24.
The contract is part of the Defense Experimentation Using Commercial Space Internet (DEUCSI) program, which seeks to integrate commercial space internet constellations, such as Starlink, OneWeb and SES’s O3b, into military communications networks.
Viasat will focus on the development of Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) antennas for tactical aircraft, including rotary-wing platforms.
Based in Carlsbad, California, Viasat is a global communications firm that provides high-speed internet and networking services for commercial, military, and government markets.
Military seeks multi-orbit communications
AESA antennas use electronic beam steering, allowing them to rapidly shift focus and manage multiple connections simultaneously. This capability is crucial for ensuring communications across different frequency bands and orbits, making it well-suited for the multi-band, multi-orbit requirements of modern military operations.
Viasat said the new AESA antennas, to be delivered by April 2028, will build on its existing commercial technology and adapted for military-specific needs. The antennas are expected to be “high-performance, low size, weight, and power (SWAP), offering resilient, multi-band communication capabilities for tactical aircraft,” the company said.
“Viasat has extensive expertise supporting development of AESA phased array antenna technology across domains, and we’re excited to bring that experience to the DEUCSI program,” said Michael Maughan, vice president of space and mission systems at Viasat Government.
Under the DEUCSI program, Viasat is also supplying high-capacity satcom modems to Northrop Grumman.
