Hughes Network Systems, LLC, an EchoStar company (Nasdaq: SATS), together with Gogo (NASDAQ: GOGO)i, is celebrating key milestones in the partnership to transform the in-flight connectivity (IFC) experience in the business jet market with the on-time delivery of both the Gogo half-duplex (HDX) and full-duplex (FDX) Aviation electronically steerable antenna (ESA) terminals.
This milestone is complemented by the recently announced first FAA-approved Supplemental Type Certificates (STCs) for the Gogo Galileo FDX terminal for a Boeing BBJ aircraft and the Bombardier Challenger 600 series and a growing STC portfolio to enable high speed, low latency connectivity for over 9,000 business jets in the global fleet.
A joint collaboration of Gogo and Hughes for Gogo and its customers in the business aviation market, these HDX and FDX ESAs enable the Gogo Galileo system and deliver the best possible connectivity to Gogo’s customers. The Hughes ESA is engineered for seamless integration across a wide range of aircraft platforms—including business, VVIP, Head of State, and military/government aircraft—while optimizing size, weight, and power. Each Hughes ESA features a design with no moving parts, making it simple to install and easy to maintain. The terminal solution is purpose-built to withstand the demanding conditions of aviation and manufactured at the Hughes state-of-the-art, AS9100 certified facility in Germantown, Maryland.
Hughes has already commenced shipments of its Gogo FDX ESA terminals, engineered for larger airframes and higher-throughput connectivity demands. The Gogo FDX ESA builds upon the same flight-proven architecture as HDX, while introducing full-duplex operation to support more data-intensive applications in business aviation. Furthermore, Hughes has developed a Commercial Aviation ESA, leveraging the same underlying technology that is purpose-built to meet the performance, scalability, and certification requirements of commercial airline operations, which will soon be available.
With two Hughes ESA models for Gogo now in production and flying, business jet operators across the full range of aircraft types can fully leverage the advantages of the Eutelsat OneWeb Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite network to stay connected,” said Reza Rasoulian, SVP and GM of the Aviation Business Unit at Hughes. “Gogo’s expert validation of our ESA technology underscores our industry-leading capabilities, and we’re excited to support the business aviation sector with robust, scalable solutions that ensure high-throughput, low-latency, and uninterrupted in-flight connectivity.”
Hughes is a highly capable and dependable technology and manufacturing partner,” said Chris Moore, CEO of Gogo. “Their on-time delivery of both the HDX and FDX Electronically Steerable Antenna (ESA) systems has been instrumental in advancing our certification efforts. We’ve successfully obtained 19 STCs for HDX with another 21 in development, and now with the first two STCs for FDX and eight more underway, we are enabling scalable deployment across multiple airframes and accelerating our connectivity roadmap.”
Hughes has more than 20 years of experience in the aviation connectivity business. The company offers a suite of in-flight solutions for business and commercial aviation, focused on providing the best passenger connectivity experience through an innovative approach to aero connectivity. Flight tests have validated Hughes cutting edge technology and extensive end-to-end connectivity capabilities for the aviation sector.
Gogo is a leading provider of inflight connectivity services able to satisfy the performance and cost needs of every segment of the global business aviation and government markets. Gogo’s products and services are installed on thousands of business aircraft of all sizes and mission types, from turboprops to the largest global jets, and are utilized by the largest fractional ownership operators, charter operators, corporate flight departments, individuals, and military and government customers that operate heavy jets.
=>NOTE: Hughes will be participating and exhibiting at the upcoming Silicon Valley Space Week event in California in Meeting Room M3.
