Business Wire

SES

22.9.2021 08:52:11 CEST | Business Wire | Press release

Share
Hughes and SES Demonstrate First Multi-Orbit SATCOM for Remotely Piloted Aircraft

Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES) and SES today announced the successful first demonstration of a new multi-orbit satellite communications (SATCOM) capability for remotely piloted aircraft. Conducted for General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), the demonstration paired Hughes HM series software-defined modems and Resource Management System (RMS) with SES’s satellites that operate in geosynchronous (GEO) and medium earth (MEO) orbits. SES’s unique multi-orbit fleet, which delivers global coverage, high throughput and security, was leveraged to show how unmanned aerial vehicles, such as the GA-ASI MQ-9 series, can maintain crucial connectivity and resiliency, even in contested environments.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210921006196/en/

The demonstration replicated a typical unmanned Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) mission, transmitting high-definition video and sensor data to and from the unmanned vehicle to the command center. Based on the mission’s pre-set policies, the RMS automatically switched the satellite signals to stay connected – even when a signal experienced interference and jamming scenarios. A quasi-instant and smooth beam switch took just seconds to complete, allowing a near real-time capability that enhances the military’s Primary Alternative Contingency Emergency (PACE) planning.

“Our multi-orbit demonstration for remotely piloted aircraft delivered three times the throughput of the currently deployed SATCOM service using a terminal less than half the size, while maintaining constant connectivity,” said Rick Lober, vice president and general manager, Hughes Defense. “This highly resilient, significantly reduced SWAP option for primary and secondary aero connections unlocks new beyond-line of sight mission opportunities for unmanned aerial vehicles like the GA-ASI MQ-9. It’s another example of how Hughes empowers our military to exchange information securely with the right people at the right time.”

“SES's second-generation MEO system, O3b mPOWER brings a new age of game changing performance, scalability, and resilience that will enable us to deliver the network sovereignty that governments are looking for,” said Will Tong, Vice President of Strategic Government Initiatives and Head of the Aero ISR market at SES Networks. “The demonstration we did with Hughes showcases the power of the industry’s first multi-orbit networked capability to exponentially increase performance utilizing small terminals, while giving end-users the autonomy to provision networks to meet their operational ISR needs. It also comes at a perfect time as we are preparing to launch O3b mPOWER as the showcased solution ensures both high-performance and multiple layers of network resiliency and security for multi-domain operations that involve moving platforms in remote, austere locations.”

The demonstration was powered by software-defined gateways and modems from the Hughes HM System, a commercially based, frequency-agnostic, open architecture platform for fixed, mobile and portable government applications. For more information about Hughes Defense solutions, including the HM System, visit defense.hughes.com .

Follow us on:

Twitter  | Facebook  | Youtube  | LinkedIn  | Instagram
Read our Blogs >
Visit the Media Gallery >

About Hughes Network Systems

Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES), an innovator in satellite and multi-transport technologies and networks for 50 years, provides broadband equipment and services; managed services featuring smart, software-defined networking; and end-to-end network operation for millions of consumers, businesses, governments and communities worldwide. The Hughes flagship Internet service, HughesNet® , connects more than 1.5 million subscribers across the Americas, and the Hughes JUPITER™ System powers Internet access for tens of millions more worldwide. Hughes supplies more than half the global satellite terminal market to leading satellite operators, in-flight service providers, mobile network operators and military customers. A managed network services provider, Hughes supports nearly 500,000 enterprise sites with its HughesON™ portfolio of wired and wireless solutions. Headquartered in Germantown, Maryland, USA, Hughes is owned by EchoStar. To learn more, visit www.hughes.com or follow HughesConnects on Twitter and LinkedIn.

About SES

SES has a bold vision to deliver amazing experiences everywhere on earth by distributing the highest quality video content and providing seamless connectivity around the world. As the leader in global content connectivity solutions, SES operates the world’s only multi-orbit constellation of satellites with the unique combination of global coverage and high performance, including the commercially-proven, low-latency Medium Earth Orbit O3b system. By leveraging a vast and intelligent, cloud-enabled network, SES is able to deliver high-quality connectivity solutions anywhere on land, at sea or in the air, and is a trusted partner to the world’s leading telecommunications companies, mobile network operators, governments, connectivity and cloud service providers, broadcasters, video platform operators and content owners. SES’s video network carries over 8,650 channels and has an unparalleled reach of 361 million households, delivering managed media services for both linear and non-linear content. The company is listed on Paris and Luxembourg stock exchanges (Ticker: SESG). Further information is available at: www.ses.com .

About EchoStar

EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ: SATS) is a premier global provider of satellite communication solutions. Headquartered in Englewood, Colo., and conducting business around the globe, EchoStar is a pioneer in secure communications technologies through its Hughes Network Systems and EchoStar Satellite Services business segments. For more information, visit www.echostar.com . Follow @EchoStar on Twitter.

Link:

ClickThru

Social Media:

https://www.facebook.com/SES.Satellites/

About Business Wire

Business Wire
Business Wire
101 California Street, 20th Floor
CA 94111 San Francisco

http://businesswire.com

Subscribe to releases from Business Wire

Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Latest releases from Business Wire

Smartsheet Integrates With Claude Sheets, Making It Easy to Start Projects in Claude and Launch Workflows Across Teams with Smartsheet10.11.2026 18:57:00 CET | Press release

New Send to Smartsheet feature moves work started in Claude into Smartsheet, where the Execution Graph connects it to the people, plans and goals that see it through Smartsheet, the AI-powered enterprise work management platform, today announced a new integration with Claude Sheets, the new spreadsheet artifact in Claude from Anthropic, now in beta. With the new Send to Smartsheet feature, people who build a tracker or plan in Claude can move it into Smartsheet in a few clicks. There they can put it to work with their team, connected to the plans, projects, people and systems their organization already runs on. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261110763156/en/ With the new Send to Smartsheet feature, people who build a tracker or plan in Claude can move it into Smartsheet in a few clicks. More and more work now begins in a conversation with Claude, and the Smartsheet MCP connector for Claude puts the entire pow

InterSystems Joins Google Cloud as Launch Partner for Gemini for Healthcare10.11.2026 18:00:00 CET | Press release

Integration with InterSystems IRIS FHIR MCP will help healthcare organizations securely connect Gemini to trusted, standards-based health data InterSystems, a creative data technology provider powering more than one billion health records globally, today announced that it will serve as a launch partner for Google Cloud’s Gemini for healthcare. Through the collaboration, Gemini for healthcare will connect to the InterSystems IRIS FHIR Model Context Protocol (MCP) server, enabling healthcare organizations to give AI assistants and agents governed access to FHIR data. The integration will bring together Google Cloud’s Gemini capabilities and the standards-based data access provided by InterSystems IRIS FHIR MCP. InterSystems FHIR MCP serves the open Model Context Protocol directly from a FHIR endpoint, allowing MCP-enabled clients to discover and use FHIR tools for searching, reading, creating, updating, and managing healthcare data. “Healthcare organizations are looking for practical way

Coherent Solutions Launches AKTIV, a Dedicated Fitness and Wellness Technology Business Unit10.11.2026 16:34:00 CET | Press release

Coherent Solutions officially launches AKTIV, a dedicated business unit focused exclusively on fitness and wellness technology. AKTIV brings together over 15 years of fitness industry experience, dedicated leadership, and global engineering capabilities to help fitness and wellness operators and equipment manufacturers compete through technology. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261110242555/en/ Coherent Solutions officially launches AKTIV “We know the fitness and wellness industry and the challenges operators and manufacturers face. With AKTIV, we spend less time defining what needs to be built and more time delivering solutions that improve operations, member experiences, and business performance,” said Vadim Bartlov, Managing Director of AKTIV. AKTIV builds on Coherent Solutions' established work with leading fitness companies, including Life Time, Planet Fitness, Anytime Fitness, Orangetheory, and BowFlex,

Mouser Explores the Newest Computing Technologies Beyond Moore's Law in its Technology Series10.11.2026 16:12:00 CET | Press release

Mouser Electronics, Inc., the authorized global distributor with the newest electronic components and industrial automation products, today announced the latest installment of its Empowering Innovation Together (EIT) technology series, Moving Beyond Moore's Law. The series explores how engineers are advancing computing performance as traditional semiconductor scaling approaches its physical limits, from chiplets and advanced packaging to silicon photonics and emerging transistor technologies. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261006980414/en/ Explore what comes after Moore's Law as the industry seeks new paths to computing performance. As a key driver of semiconductor advancement, Moore's Law has served as a roadmap for the industry, describing the trend of transistor counts on integrated circuits doubling approximately every two years. With conventional silicon transistors becoming increasingly difficult to shr

Netceed appoints Eric Updyke as Group CEO10.11.2026 15:15:00 CET | Press release

Netceed, a global leader in delivering supply chain solutions across broadband, data center and energy infrastructure, today announced the appointment of Eric Updyke as Group CEO, effective 10th November, 2026. He succeeds Alper Türken, who will step down as CEO on 10th November, 2026. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261110492065/en/ Netceed appoints Eric Updyke as Group CEO Eric brings more than 35 years of leadership experience in communications and technology infrastructure. Most recently, he served as CEO of Spirent Communications plc from 2019 to 2025. At Spirent, he led the company's shift from a hardware-centric vendor to a solutions provider built on software, automation and services. He also expanded the business into new sectors, including AI data center providers, and guided it through a strategic sale, culminating in its $1.5 billion acquisition by Keysight Technologies in 2025. Before Spirent, Eri

In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.

Visit our pressroom
World GlobeA line styled icon from Orion Icon Library.HiddenA line styled icon from Orion Icon Library.Eye