Viasat, Inc.

Carlsbad,  CA 
United States
http://www.viasat.com

At Viasat, we’re on a mission to connect every warfighter, platform, and node in the battlespace.  As a global communications company, we power millions of fast, resilient connections for military forces around the world – connections that have the capacity to transform the mission – in the air, on the ground, and at sea.  Our customers depend on us for connectivity that brings greater operational capabilities, whether we’re securing the U.S. Government’s networks, delivering satellite and wireless communications to the remote edges of the battlespace, or providing senior leaders with the ability to perform mission-critical communications while in flight.  We’re a team of fearless innovators, driven to redefine what’s possible.  And we’re not done – we’re just beginning.

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 Press Releases

• Study: U.S. Military Communications Technology and Cyber Defense Challenges Remain (Mar 30, 2021)

  Second Annual State of Military Communications Study, from Government Business Council and Viasat, Finds Military Communications Still Not Seen as a Priority; Creating Potentially Dire Implications Relative to Adversaries

  WASHINGTON and CARLSBAD, Calif., Dec. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Despite the Department of Defense (DoD) making strategic moves to improve its communications technologies, a new study finds challenges still exist in fulfilling a successful military communications technology strategy for the multi-domain battlefield. Concerns regarding the DoD's acquisition process and cybersecurity were revealed in the study, conducted by the Government Business Council (GBC), the research division of Government Executive Media Group, in partnership with Viasat Inc., (NASDAQ: VSAT) a global communications company.

   

  According to the second annual State of Military Communications study, respondents reported the top three causes of defense communications technology deficiencies in their agencies include: limited funding, incompatibilities with legacy architectures and cultural complacency. Cultural complacency was also reported as the number one reason why defense agencies continue to contract with companies from the Traditional Defense Industrial Base (TDIB) over companies from the New Defense Industrial Base (NDIB).

   

  Other key findings from the study include:

   

  Despite technology improvements, communications technology strategy is still not seen as an agency priority, with communication technology blackouts still common

   

  • 97% of respondents reported a complete loss in connectivity at some point while working in the military.
  • The majority (60%) of respondents think U.S communications technology is either behind or only on par with their adversaries, suggesting potentially dire implications relative to near-peer adversaries.
  • 76% of respondents believe that a focus on improvements to defense communications is much lower, or just on par, with other top priorities in their agency.

  Secure connectivity was seen as the number one improvement need in defense communications technology

   

  • When asked about their agency's preparedness for a cyberattack on defense communications infrastructure, confidence levels were low across the board. The highest percentage (39%) of respondents indicated they were 'moderately confident' in their agency' preparedness, while 16% said they were 'not at all confident' and only 8% reported feeling 'extremely confident.'

  Acquisition remains a barrier to a U.S. military lead in defense technologies 

   

  • 67% of respondents agree there is room for the military to improve its adoption of communications technology.
  • Increased commercial sector engagement could help boost the pace of improvements to the military's communications technology portfolio, according to the majority (63%) of respondents.
  • Respondents (52%) also suggest that increased participation from non-traditional companies — including those from the NDIB — in DoD's acquisition process could expose the military to the latest and greatest technology and business processes.

  Investments in cloud, analytics and communications are being made to support the next-gen warfighter

   

  • Though challenges exist with developing and acquiring advanced communications technology, respondents did report their agencies are upgrading equipment to minimize challenges created by outdated legacy IT.
  • Advanced satellite communications, analytics and 5G technology were flagged by respondents as the top next-gen technologies their agency must leverage to advance defense communications capabilities.
  • Respondents also believe cloud computing is worthy of investment, noting their organizations were prioritizing it in order to outpace competitive adversaries. Specifically, 36% of respondents reported a concerted agency push for cloud computing technologies within the past 12 months.

  "As the defense landscape evolves, global military prowess will no longer be determined by artillery alone; command over information — and the digital channels that convey it — will determine the victor," said Daniel Thomas, director, Research & Strategic Insights, Government Business Council. "This year's State of Military Communications survey continued to highlight the need for the DoD to increase its communications modernization efforts to remain competitive against global adversaries to drive real-time decision making and information sharing."

   

  "In its second year, the State of Military Communications survey once again spotlighted the need for enhanced communications to help bridge the multi-domain battlefield and support our warfighters," said Ken Peterman, president, Government Systems, Viasat. "Status-quo acquisition models anchored in cultural complacency must evolve, the pace of technology deployment must align with the speed of relevancy and a focus on security, cloud computing, communications and analytics are all needed to ensure our U.S. competitive military advantage does not erode. Viasat is at the vanguard of the New Defense Industrial Base, focused on bringing innovative business models and game-changing technologies to the defense sector with the goal of creating unprecedented warfighter capabilities and mission outcomes."

   

  A complete copy of the Second Annual State of Military Communications Study can be found here.

   

  About the research and methodology
  Government Business Council, the research division of Government Executive Media Group, in partnership with Viasat, conducted the State of Military Communications survey, an in-depth study of senior military decision-makers. The study, now in its second year, was fielded from September-October 2020, to a random sample of U.S. active military and DoD civilians from across the nation. Responses of 195 defense employees were captured after quality control and screening, with about 40% of respondents identifying as GS/GM-13 level or above (including Senior Executive Service). Respondents represented all branches of the military, with the greatest input from the Air Force, Navy, and Army in the 2020 survey.

   

  About Government Business Council
  As Government Executive Media Group's research division, Government Business Council (GBC) is dedicated to advancing the business of government through analysis, insight and analytical independence. An extension of Government Executive's 50 years of exemplary editorial standards, GBC produces over 100 research initiatives each year, studying influential decision-makers across all sectors in government to provide invaluable insights, thought leadership content and marketing intelligence for government contractors.

   

  About Viasat
  Viasat is a global communications company that believes everyone and everything in the world can be connected. For nearly 35 years, Viasat has helped shape how consumers, businesses, governments and militaries around the world communicate. Today, the Company is developing the ultimate global communications network to power high-quality, secure, affordable, fast connections to impact people's lives anywhere they are—on the ground, in the air or at sea.

• Viasat Successfully Demonstrated Resilient, Multi-Path Networking Capabilities at the U.S. Army's Cyber Quest Exercise (Mar 30, 2021)

  CARLSBAD, Calif., Feb. 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ: VSAT), a global communications company, securely and reliably transmitted high performance cloud- and artificial intelligence (AI)-based data in a variety of challenging tactical communication scenarios during the U.S. Army's Cyber Quest 2020 exercise—a collaborative, live event where military, commercial and defense industry, worked alongside academia and government to examine how electronic warfare, cyber, networking and communications capabilities could aid global military forces.

   

  "Cyber Quest provides a realistic, operational, 'fail-safe' environment that puts critical capabilities—enabled by the latest technologies—into the hands of soldiers for immediate feedback and assessment," said Col. Brett Riddle, director of the Cyber Battle Lab. "It's an incredible opportunity to bring leaders from across disciplines together to accelerate and optimize technological developments for battlespace advancement."

   

  During the event, Viasat showed its NetAgility Virtual and Mobile Software Defined Networking (SDN) bonding router delivering advanced multi-path networking transmission and management capabilities over a variety of tactical communication links in a number of U.S. Army Medical Command (MEDCOM) and Operational Virtual Health (OVH) situations. Tactical communication technologies leveraged included SATCOM, LTE and multiple Line of Sight tactical radios.  Viasat's technology supported Situational Awareness (SA) and Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) applications with optimized network video capture to:

   

  • Enable a medic in theater wearing augmented reality glasses to send/receive medical input from a surgeon located at the Army base;
  • Allow facial recognition and AI scans be sent to identify wounded soldiers by matching data stored in military personnel databases; and
  • Provide a higher level of warfighter care during 'golden hour' situations, which is the precious first hour following a battlefield wound when proper medical attention and treatment is crucial to survival.

  Ken Peterman, president, Government Systems, Viasat commented, "The U.S. Army has interest in fielding advanced solutions like OVH, SA, transport-optimized ISR and a tactical medical cloud to help save warfighter lives in the thick of battle. These applications require increased network bandwidth and resiliency for both the distributed network (command post to medic) and the backhaul network (advanced medical support from continental U.S. military hospitals). At Cyber Quest 2020, we proved we could augment and enhance existing tactical military networks using SDN capabilities integrated into a multi-vendor environment—to provide ease of management, increased network capacity and real-time resilience—even if a network goes under attack."

   

  In multiple challenges during the Cyber Quest 2020 exercise, the Army explored how Viasat's SDN platform could address the following U.S. Army Futures Command Network Cross-Functional Team interests:

   

  • Capability Set 2023—specifically in the area of hardened network transport to provide increased data throughput, and
  • Capability Set 2025—for the initial implementation of automated PACE (Primary, Alternate, Contingency and Emergency) and recovery across multiple networks, including: Beyond Line of Sight (BLOS), commercial cellular and a Line of Sight (LOS) tactical Mobile Ad Hoc Network (MANET).

  In each scenario, Viasat was able to demonstrate it could strengthen the transport backbone and ensure resilient communications could be maintained without disruption or disablement, thereby empowering field-based medics with the life-saving technologies they needed during warfare.

   

  About Viasat

   

   

  Viasat is a global communications company that believes everyone and everything in the world can be connected. For more than 30 years, Viasat has helped shape how consumers, businesses, governments and militaries around the world communicate. Today, the Company is developing the ultimate global communications network to power high-quality, secure, affordable, fast connections to impact people's lives anywhere they are—on the ground, in the air or at sea. 

• Viasat Demonstrates Major Advancement in Beyond Line of Sight Satellite Connectivity to a U.S. Army Rotary-Wing Helicopter (Mar 30, 2021)

  CARLSBAD, Calif., Feb. 8, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ: VSAT), a global communications company, today announced it successfully demonstrated through-the-blades Beyond Line of Sight (BLOS) Ka-band satellite communications (SATCOM) connectivity to a U.S. Army UH-60M rotary-wing helicopter. The demonstration highlighted Viasat's ability to deliver resilient command and control (C2) communications, feature-rich situational awareness (SA) and Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) feeds – disseminating C2/SA from a simulated Tactical Operations Center to the UH-60M aircraft and down to dismounted soldiers.

   

  Today, rotary-wing platforms are equipped with slow, low data-rate satellite communications systems that severely limit mission effects. However, earlier this quarter, Viasat delivered high-speed, high-quality broadband communications to a rotary-wing platform—through the turning rotors—with consistent, error-free, usable throughput far exceeding any other vendor's capabilities. Having the ability to operate broadband communications-on-the-move could dynamically transform the role of the multi-mission UH-60M helicopter, enabling it to provide en-route mission command, telemedicine for MEDEVAC and other critical warfighting functions across the battlespace.

   

  The Viasat system proved it could meet the Army's quest to enhance its aging airborne C2 system. Viasat used BLOS Ka-band SATCOM service coupled with its Ka-band airborne terminal to facilitate U.S. Army Battle Command Systems to send and receive bandwidth-intensive, full-motion high-definition (HD) video; conduct high-quality, real-time video teleconferencing; exchange information on the WinTak application for precision targeting; and other advanced connectivity-based capabilities through the rotors of a UH-60M helicopter.

   

  Ken Peterman, president, Government Systems, Viasat commented, "For years we have demonstrated our strong capabilities of providing enhanced SA and sensor-driven capabilities to fixed-wing and unmanned aircraft system platforms. Now we have proven we can transform rotary-wing platform communications and enable game-changing connectivity needed to make timely decisions, shorten the kill chain and reduce fratricide. U.S. Army commanders can now receive and disseminate their intent to subordinate units, on the move, as well as receive timely intelligence with HD video feeds."

   

  For more information on the value SATCOM brings to UH-60M missions: please watch this Viasat video.

   

  About Viasat
  Viasat is a global communications company that believes everyone and everything in the world can be connected. For more than 30 years, Viasat has helped shape how consumers, businesses, governments and militaries around the world communicate. Today, the Company is developing the ultimate global communications network to power high-quality, secure, affordable, fast connections to impact people's lives anywhere they are—on the ground, in the air or at sea.

• Viasat, AeroVironment Team to Develop Enhanced Type 1 Encrypted Communications Capabilities for U.S. Army Unmanned Aircraft Systems (Mar 30, 2021)

  CARLSBAD and SIMI VALLEY, Calif., Oct. 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ: VSAT), a global communications company, and AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVAV), a global leader in unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), today announced they will collaborate on a contract awarded under the U.S. Army Reconfigurable Communications for Small Unmanned Systems (RCSUS) initiative. The project will provide U.S. military customers flying small UAS platforms the ability to deploy a robust, on-demand, highly-secure communications network that will address the growing electronic warfare capabilities of peer and near-peer adversaries.

   

  Viasat is the prime contractor on the award and will work with AeroVironment to develop and demonstrate advanced, encrypted communications suitable for AeroVironment's portable, hand-launched Puma AE™ tactical UAS. The two companies will seek to strengthen the communications and transmission security of AeroVironment's Digital Data Link™ (DDL) radios currently used by the U.S. Army by converting them into a Type 1 crypto communication system for video and data transmission. 

   

  In addition, Viasat and AeroVironment will develop critical interoperability standards for enabling UAS to generate a secure, digitally encrypted communications network—for protecting classified data and improving waveform performance in jamming environments—via the embedded DDL waveform. They will also create a standardized communications architecture that will allow UAS to access spectrum quickly and easily, especially when operating in contested environments.

   

  "Viasat's robust military-grade cryptography and electronic countermeasure tactical waveform design will enable quick expansion of secure communications to a variety of small unmanned systems operating at the tactical edge," said Ken Peterman, president, Government Systems, Viasat. "By collaborating with AeroVironment, an established leader in the tactical UAS sector, we can help the U.S. Army set new waveform standards that maximize connectivity and minimize the risk of signal intercept."

   

  Currently, tens of thousands of AeroVironment tactical unmanned aircraft are deployed around the world and are capable of serving as secure, digital network communication nodes for on-demand, mesh network applications in various operating environments.

   

  "As U.S. forces plan for the potential of operating against peer and near-peer military adversaries possessing advanced electronic warfare capabilities, the need for even more secure communication capabilities is rapidly increasing," said Scott Newbern, AeroVironment chief technology officer. "We will work with Viasat to provide customers requiring enhanced, secure communication capabilities with a portable, practical solution for maintaining secure communications via tactical unmanned aircraft systems operating at the battlefield's edge."

   

  About AeroVironment, Inc.
  AeroVironment (NASDAQ: AVAV) provides technology solutions at the intersection of robotics, sensors, software analytics and connectivity that deliver more actionable intelligence so you can proceed with certainty. Celebrating 50 years of innovation, AeroVironment is a global leader in unmanned aircraft systems and tactical missile systems, and serves defense, government and commercial customers. For more information, visit www.avinc.com.

   

  About Viasat
  Viasat is a global communications company that believes everyone and everything in the world can be connected. For more than 30 years, Viasat has helped shape how consumers, businesses, governments and militaries around the world communicate. Today, the Company is developing the ultimate global communications network to power high-quality, secure, affordable, fast connections to impact people's lives anywhere they are—on the ground, in the air or at sea. 

• Viasat Releases Configuration of AN/PRC-161 BATS-D Handheld Link 16 Radio Certified by National Security Agency for Use by U.S. General Purpose Forces and Five Eyes Nations (Mar 30, 2021)

  CARLSBAD, Calif., Oct. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ: VSAT), a global communications company, today announced it has released a new, advanced configuration of its handheld Link 16 Battlefield Awareness and Targeting System – Dismounted (BATS-D) radio. This advanced version adds new security features to address emerging and expanded threats associated with the diverse operational use cases and new deployment scenarios where the radio will be utilized. Accordingly, this configuration has been certified by the National Security Agency (NSA) for immediate use by U.S. General Purpose Forces (GPF), Five Eyes (FVEY) partner nations and coalition forces.

   

  BATS-D is the world's first and only handheld Link 16 radio. It bridges a critical gap between air and ground forces by providing warfighters at the tactical edge secure, reliable access to integrated air and ground information for improved situational awareness and enhanced close air support communications.

   

  "The initial success of the BATS-D radios in the field proves this capability to be a true game-changer in military communications," said Andy Kessler, vice president and business area director, Next Generation Tactical Data Links business, Viasat. "We've seen tremendous interest to extend the use of the BATS-D radios to new applications and expanded concepts of operation that address specific needs and capability gaps of U.S. and international FVEY armed forces. The availability of BATS-D for GPF and FVEY partner nations will empower more warfighters with secure, interoperable, digitally-aided communications, which ultimately translates into significantly enhanced situational awareness and improved mission coordination across the multi-domain battlespace."

   

  The BATS-D handheld Link 16 radio is known to the United States Department of Defense as the AN/PRC-161. 

   

  About Viasat
  Viasat is a global communications company that believes everyone and everything in the world can be connected. For more than 30 years, Viasat has helped shape how consumers, businesses, governments and militaries around the world communicate. Today, the Company is developing the ultimate global communications network to power high-quality, secure, affordable, fast connections to impact people's lives anywhere they are—on the ground, in the air or at sea. 

• Viasat Makes Technology Enhancements to its Link 16 Expeditionary Tactical Gateway Products (Mar 30, 2021)
  Viasat's Agile Development Process Enables the Company to Quickly Increase Data Storage and Processing Power to Ensure Military Forces Are Not Left Behind on Today's Technology-Driven Battlefield

  CARLSBAD, Calif., July 22, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Viasat Inc. (NASDAQ: VSAT), a global communications company, announced today it added significant data storage and increased the processing power of its Link 16 expeditionary tactical gateway products. These technology improvements will help keep today's warfighter reliably connected to real-time air/ground geospatial intelligence and critical network functions when on the frontline of battle.

   

  The enhancements were made as part of Viasat's Non-Developmental Item (NDI) business model, which delivers advanced capabilities significantly faster, at lower lifecycle costs and with lower risk to the customer when compared to traditional defense acquisition programs and timelines. By leveraging the NDI approach coupled with the gateways' open architecture, Viasat will keep pace with commercial technology advancements and ensure warfighters are equipped with the latest technology advancements.

   

  Technical enhancements include:

   

  • An eight-fold increase in data storage: Expanding storage from 512 gigabytes to 4 terabytes will help provide battlefield units in adverse conditions with more accurate situational awareness and targeting data to help fight near-peer adversaries that deploy sophisticated techniques that attempt to disable military forces' ability to communicate and collaborate.
  • Greater processing power: By increasing gateway processing power it will be capable of delivering higher speeds and better performance with lower-power consumption for key application hosting and advanced network services on the battlespace. The additional processing power will be ideal for capabilities such as Viasat's Assured Resilient Integrated Network (ARIN), a solution delivering robust, secure communications for deployed tactical networks. Today, the processing power leverages PacStar's family of small form factor, modular router and server communications solutions.

  "The technology enhancements to Viasat's expeditionary tactical gateway products are critical as we shift our focus to large-scale combat operations where we expect to fight more sophisticated threats in austere, denied, degraded and disrupted communications environments," said Andy Kessler, vice president and business area director, Next Generation Tactical Data Links, Viasat. "Our NDI approach enables our defense products to keep pace with the rapidly accelerating technology trajectories in the private sector. This model enables us to quickly and cost-effectively integrate significant technology enhancements into our products, keeping warfighters safer and more reliably-connected during tactical mission engagements."

   

  Expeditionary tactical gateway products receiving the enhancement include Viasat's advanced Move Out / Jump Off (MOJO) Link 16 expeditionary tactical gateway system, which is the world's only compact, multi-network Link 16 communications system currently in use by all U.S. military services.

   

  Availability
  The technology enhancements are available today to all Department of Defense customers as a field-upgradeable option on Viasat's expeditionary tactical gateway products. For more information on Viasat's Link 16 expeditionary tactical gateway systems, visit the Company's website here.

   

  About Viasat
  Viasat is a global communications company that believes everyone and everything in the world can be connected. For more than 30 years, Viasat has helped shape how consumers, businesses, governments and militaries around the world communicate. Today, the Company is developing the ultimate global communications network to power high-quality, secure, affordable, fast connections to impact people's lives anywhere they are—on the ground, in the air or at sea. 

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