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The new satellite communications equipment, which was designed and built in Australia, will enhance the amphibious assault ship’s communications capabilities following a two-month modernisation program.
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EM Solutions’ Cobra Tri-Band Inmarsat GX and WGS X/Ka-band satellite Communications Terminal which expands a ship’s communications capabilities is an Australian development, and has already been installed aboard the Cape, Anzac, LHD and AOR Class ships earlier this year.
The recent satellite communication upgrades to HMAS Canberra was part of the company’s ongoing contracts with the Royal Australian Navy to improve bandwidth capacity, crew conditions and Quality of Life options under the SEA 1445 and SEA 1180 programs.
The terminal is now in use by six of the world’s largest navies, having been developed as part of the Capability Technology Demonstrator Program.
According to the company, the new Cobra Tri-Band capabilities will enhance voice, video, internet and personal communications opportunities for those deployed on RAN vessels.
In fact, the recent installation onboard the HMAS Canberra was the first instance in which the terminal had been employed with a dual antenna design.
The design was achieved by utilising an Antenna Diversity System, developed by EM Solutions alongside engineers from the RAN, which allows one antenna to maintain communications if the other is blocked.
Chief executive of EM Solutions Dr Rowan Gilmore welcomed the opportunity to install the Cobra terminal alongside several local companies.
“Our ability to work remotely under COVID conditions, and test and commission a dual-headed system with novel arbitration technology for the first time, shows how the rapid support and capability of local firms can make a huge difference,” he said.
“This rapid commissioning attests to the capability of even medium-sized firms like EM Solutions to provide immediate sovereign design, manufacturing, and increasingly, sustainment activity to the benefit of the ADF.”
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