Raytheon chooses antenna from Ultra Electronics Gigasat for troposcatter long-range communications system

BURLINGTON, Mass. – Military communications experts at the Raytheon Co. needed an advanced antenna to ensure troops have access to secure voice and data communications in contested environments. They found their solution from Ultra Electronics Gigasat in Greenford, England.

Officials of the Raytheon Intelligence, Information, and Services segment in Burlington, Mass., has selected Gigasat as part of the Raytheon team providing advanced troposcatter communication systems to the U.S. Army. Gigasat is part of Ultra Electronics Communication and Integrated Systems (CIS).

Troposcatter communications systems enable warfighters to establish a communications capability in areas where access to a trusted source of satellite communications coverage is not available.

The partnership between Gigasat and Raytheon will deliver troposcatter communications systems as part of a 10-year contract to ensure troops have access to secure voice and data communications in contested environments, Gigasat officials say.

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Tropospheric scatter, or troposcatter, enables communications with microwave radio signals over distances of nearly 200 miles by randomly scattering UHF and SHF radio waves as they pass through the upper atmospheric layers of the troposphere.

Troposcatter transmits radio signals in a narrow beam aimed just above the horizon in the direction of the receiver station. As the signals pass through the troposphere, some of the energy scatters back toward the receiver station.

Raytheon chose Gigasat’s troposcatter antenna to provide the U.S. Army with a secure, reliable, easily deployable capability to facilitate mission-critical communications between soldiers in the field and command and control centers.

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The troposcatter terminal has been designed to operate in a multitude of environments, ensuring that troops conducting missions anywhere in the world have access to a reliable communications system.

Ultra Gigasat’s troposcatter antenna can deploy to and operate in a wide variety of environmental conditions and terrain to establish secure communications quickly. The system has been optimized for transportability, weight, and size.

For more information contact Ultra Electronics Gigasat online at www.ultra-cis.com, or Raytheon Intelligence, Information, and Services at www.raytheon.com.