Agilis HALE UAV Communication Solution Powers Next-Generation Unmanned Aerial Vehicles 

 27 May 2016

ST Electronics announced the release of the Agilis HALE UAV Communication Solution. The new solution is a fully integrated, highly efficient, low latency ground infrastructure for High Altitude Long-Endurance (HALE) Unmanned Aerial Vehicles that can deliver satellite connectivity around the globe.

Today, leading aerospace companies  are  developing  highly  sophisticated unmanned aerial  vehicles. These vehicles are being built to provide a communication infrastructure that spans large geographical areas.  HALEs are solar-powered vehicles built to fly 20 km above an area requiring connectivity with land coverage over 20 square kilometres and latency of less than 1 msec. Such capabilities require the latest in sensor networking and satellite communications technologies.  

The Agilis HALE UAV Communications Solution is uniquely designed to accommodate all requirements, built using the latest in scalable satellite technology. This fully integrated solution contains components that can also be differentiated based on requirements of the individual HALE vehicle and comprises:  

·         A low-weight, low-power UAV Payload that is built to support high-altitude environment conditions, along with overall data rate capacity and the future capability of incorporating on-board-processing to enable the hub capabilities to be part of the payload

·         A handheld terminal that boasts a very small form factor with low power consumption and weight, with the ability to support greater than 1 Mbps for ground-air communication

·         A highly-efficient, compact satellite modem and mechanical steering antenna 

“HALE Unmanned Aerial Vehicles can be used to provide Internet services to locations currently not covered by conventional satellites and they will be able to provide high data rate communications in a cost effective manner. And now, HALE Unmanned Aerial Vehicles also represent the next-generation in network communications,” said Mr. Rajanik Mark Jayasuriya, Vice President for the Satellite Networks Business Group (SNG), ST Electronics (Satcom & Sensor Systems) Pte Ltd. “With the Agilis brand, we bring to the table broad market expertise in both satellite communications and the ability to customise networks for unique applications.  We are providing the most cost-effective, low latency communication infrastructure for these exciting HALE vehicles being introduced to the market.”