Viasat's VISION Software Passes Critical Test to Support Upgraded NATO Satellite Control Stations

August 08, 2018

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Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ: VSAT), a global communications company, announced today its Commercial off-the-Shelf (COTS) Visual Integrated Satellite Communications Information, Operation and Networking (VISION) software has successfully passed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) First Article System Test (FAST). With Viasat VISION passing FAST, NATO can expedite the roll-out of its Ultra High Frequency (UHF) satellite communications (SATCOM) modernization efforts.

Under a contract awarded in January 2018, NATO will upgrade its legacy UHF communications network to Viasat's VISION planning and network management platform, the first commercially-available software package to simultaneously support all 25-kHz legacy Demand-Assigned Multiple-Access (DAMA) and next-generation Integrated Waveform (IW) networks and services.

"The successful completion of FAST for Viasat's VISION software represents a significant milestone. It confirms that Viasat's VISION platform meets critical requirements for the NATO UHF SATCOM modernization project," said the Network Services and IT Infrastructure - SATCOM Service Area representative from NATO Communications and Information Agency. "We look forward to full operational capability of the system in early 2019."

"Our VISION software is key to providing warfighters with assured, reliable, real-time communications to enhance mission effectiveness at the tactical edge," said Ken Peterman, president, Government Systems, Viasat. "Successful completion of FAST requirements is a necessary step to expediting delivery of the software to provide NATO forces with greater communications interoperability, scalability and flexibility across legacy and next-generation platforms, further enhancing situational awareness as the battlespace dynamically expands."

The Viasat VISION platform provides a single, user-friendly network management interface for legacy DAMA and IW services, inclusive of the ability to locally or remotely manage and control ground station networks, monitor status and system performance, track event/alarm management situations and add/remove services when missions change. By enabling interoperability between DAMA and IW platforms, NATO can double its channel efficiency without additional investment in the UHF space segment. This optimization doubles the number of users, giving more warfighters access to reliable, high-quality, resilient voice and data communications.

Source : ViaSat Inc.