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Inmarsat Government selects SAILOR XTR terminals for new $578M U.S. Navy contract

7 February 2023

Cobham Satcom, the leading provider of radio and satellite communication (satcom) solutions to the global maritime and land mobile sectors has been chosen by Inmarsat Government to supply new generation SAILOR XTR user terminals for the provision of fast, reliable and secure worldwide end-to-end commercial satcom for the U.S. Navy Military Sealift Command’s (MSC) Next Generation Wideband service.

Inmarsat Government is trusted with upgrading the primary MSC afloat network from Ku-band VSAT to the Global Xpress (GX) Ka-band under a 10 year, $578M Follow-On contract with the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) awarded in August 2022. Cobham Satcom was selected as the user terminal partner.  The roll-out, which includes replacing all existing Ku-band user terminals on MSC vessels with customized rapid deployment 1 meter SAILOR 1000 XTR and 0.6 meter SAILOR 600 XTR Ka-band VSAT terminals, starts immediately.

Designed specifically to leverage the worldwide coverage and capabilities of GX, Cobham Satcom’s technology leading user terminals are fully compatible with GX-R2 High Power requirements as well as GX upcoming satellites (GX6AB, GX10AB and GX7,8 & 9), helping Inmarsat Government to provision a high performance, dependable and future-proof solution. SAILOR XTR 1000 and 600 user terminals operate across multiple orbits.  In addition to GEO, the user terminal supports operation with Highly Elliptical Orbit (HEO) satellites (GX10AB), ensuring access to  GX over the  Arctic region.

Inmarsat Government’s selection of Cobham Satcom’s innovative user terminal technology platform is in line with the MSC’s demand for highly reliable and always available satcom in rough sea conditions. While SAILOR XTR 1000 and 600 are both designed and manufactured with premium quality and robustness that can be depended upon, Cobham Satcom’s proven global support network was also an important selection criterion as it will optimize user terminal installation during roll-out and resolve support issues quickly wherever vessels are in service.

“Cobham Satcom is proud to build on our long-lasting commercial relationship and partner with Inmarsat Government on providing mission-critical global satellite communication solutions with exceptionally reliable, high-performance and globally supported user terminal technology as a foundation,” said Martin Buhl, Director Strategic Partners, Cobham Satcom. “GX is a powerful solution for fast, secure and uninterrupted connectivity especially when our field-proven robust and feature-rich SAILOR XTR user terminals are providing the on-board link to the network.” 

“The provision of global, mobile connectivity requires an advanced network and well-engineered user terminals.,” said Steve Gizinski, President, Inmarsat Government. “We are confident in the proven capabilities of the Global Xpress network coupled with the SAILOR XTR user terminals to deliver the high quality service that the MSC missions demand and deserve on a global basis.”