Astrium
, the EADS-owned European space company, has been awarded a contract to supply five Maritime ASTIS wideband satellite communications terminals to the
Royal Australian Navy(RAN).
The Advanced SATCOM Terrestrial Infrastructure System (ASTIS) terminal is a dual-band X/Ka variant of Astrium’s SCOT ship-borne antenna system. Around 200 ASTIS terminals have already been supplied to 11 navies throughout the world.
The contract allows additional options to be exercised over the next nine months. BAE Systems, the ASTIS prime contractor, will supply three new RAN air warfare destroyers (AWD) and two new amphibious ships (LHD) between September 2010 and May 2011.
Aidan Joy, director of Astrium Services’ ground systems business unit, said: ‘We have been working closely with the Royal Australian Navy over the last six years, and this latest contract is a real vote of confidence in our ability to deliver SATCOM solutions. I am extremely pleased that Astrium’s SATCOM systems will be at the heart of the RAN for the next decade.'
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