Hughes wins ISR contract

Hughes Network Systems has been awarded a contract to provide satellite communications for an airborne solution to be utilised by a US government agency for in-flight intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), including air segment, ground segment, and network management services, according to a company press release issued 7 November 2011.

Under the contract Hughes will deliver their HX System, which offers the ability to transfer video, audio, and data in real-time on airborne systems. Rick Lober, vice president and general manager of Hughes Defense and Intelligence Systems Division, said, ‘The HX System offers the most bandwidth efficient airborne solutions in the marketplace, providing our ISR customers significant savings in their operational requirements’.

According to the company, the Hughes airborne solution employs the advanced HX System, including the HX satellite Gateway, HX 200 satellite router and Expert Network Management System (ExpertNMS). Hughes says that ‘ExpertNMS provides superior usability, featuring a highly intuitive and interactive interface with advanced diagnostics and network monitoring capabilities to optimise performance’.