Grand Rapids, MI - GE Aviation has signed an agreement with Boeing to provide inertial reference units for Boeing's wideband phased array satellite communications systems for airborne mobile communications.
"Tactical inertial navigation is an area of expertise for our team," said George Kiefer, vice president/general manager of Avionics North America for GE Aviation. "The inertial reference unit delivers continuous navigation data required for next-generation satellite communication systems in stationary and moving vehicles and aircraft."
The inertial reference unit provides the technology to provide orientation and position utilizing Global Positioning System (GPS) data for a wide variety of land vehicle, airborne and seaborne applications for the purposes of surveillance, target acquisition, and satellite antenna pointing. The reference unit combines inertial data and GPS data to provide the user with high-accuracy continuous location, heading, pitch, and roll data in both stationary and moving vehicles.
Boeing's state-of-the-art Ka-band phased-array SATCOM antenna system allows customers to take advantage of the significant increase in bandwidth offered by next-generation Ka-band satellites to transport data between aircraft in flight and the ground network. Boeing developed these communications antenna technologies to improve the capability of platforms to remain networked while mobile.
GE Aviation, an operating unit of GE (NYSE: GE), is a world-leading provider of jet engines, components and integrated systems for commercial, military, business and general aviation aircraft. GE Aviation has a global service network to support these offerings.