Orbit GX46 Airborne SATCOM terminal receives Inmarsat Global Xpress commercial and military Ka-band Type approval

Inmarsat announced that the Orbit GX46 multi-purpose terminal (MPT) has received full type approval for use over Inmarsat’s Global Xpress (GX) network.

GX is the world’s first and only, globally available, seamless mobile wideband service. In U.S. government service since July 2014, GX has established itself as the gold standard for reliable communications across land, sea, and air domains for assured mobile connectivity.

GX46 is a modular, multi-role terminal that operates in the GX commercial and military Ka-bands through a 46cm (18”) antenna. The terminal is fully integrated with modems, electronics and software to ensure reliable operations worldwide. The terminal enables a wide range of communications capabilities for business aircraft, military aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). It complies with industry regulations and standards including Federal Communications Commission (FCC), European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), Inmarsat GX, and RTCA DO-160G for the entire spectrum of aircraft.

The lightweight, small-footprint terminal enables worldwide connectivity, supporting the full range of Ka frequency bands and has been built to be compatible with the Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) system. The terminal is electronically switchable between systems and bands via Automatic Beam Switching (ABS) using industry-standard OpenAMIP and OpenBMIP protocols, ensuring seamless operations.

Daniel Eshchar, CEO of Orbit, said: “Orbit offers a complete range of airborne satellite communications building blocks that maximize flexibility and enable future scalability. Built to fulfil the ‘everywhere, all-the-time’ coverage requirements of the military and commercial airborne users, GX46 provides outstanding RF performance under the harshest environmental conditions.”

Tom Costello, Chief Commercial Officer, Inmarsat Government said: “Our partnership with Orbit enables Inmarsat to respond rapidly to market needs with fully qualified wideband satellite terminals. The GX46 meets mission-critical needs for our key customers by delivering high-performance, always-available connectivity worldwide. This terminal is a game changer for those that demand the very best in connectivity.”