ViaSat-3 F1 Now Providing Services to Government Customers

ViaSat-3 F1 Now Providing Services to Government Customers
by Clarence Oxford
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Oct 11, 2024

Viasat, Inc. (NASDAQ: VSAT), a leading provider of satellite communications, has announced that its ViaSat-3 F1 (VS3 F1) satellite is now delivering services to the U.S. Marine Corps. This milestone marks the first time a government customer has used the ViaSat-3 network, following the recent rollout of services for commercial airline customers across North America.

The Marine Wing Communications Squadron 38 (MWCS-38) and the 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment are the first U.S. military units to access the ViaSat-3 F1 satellite's capabilities. MWCS-38, which offers expeditionary communication support to the Aviation Combat Element (ACE) within the Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF), is using Multi-Mission Terminals (MMT) to connect to the VS3 F1 satellite. Meanwhile, the 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment, stationed at Marine Corps Base Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, is utilizing the satellite to enhance mission communications and reconnaissance operations.

The ViaSat-3 satellite network, which will consist of two additional satellites, is designed to provide high-throughput, flexible broadband connectivity that meets the security, performance, and resilience standards required for U.S. and global coalition mission operations.

"This is an important milestone for our government services and solutions team and U.S. Department of Defense and global government customers," stated Susan Miller, President of Viasat Government. "The ViaSat-3 satellite network was designed with government missions in mind, offering greater capacity and the flexibility to dynamically shift bandwidth where it's needed most. The use of small beams, beam shaping, encryption and ViaSat-3's unique anti-jam capabilities are designed to provide secure and reliable connectivity to support the most critical government missions."

Craig Miller, President of Global Space Networks at Viasat, added, "It's exciting to see both government and commercial customers beginning to leverage this next-generation network. The two additional ViaSat-3 satellites are currently in the late stages of production and testing, including the successful completion of thermal vacuum testing on ViaSat-3 F3 recently and the successful completion of mechanical environmental testing on ViaSat-3 F2."

Although the ViaSat-3 F1 satellite experienced an antenna deployment issue after its April 2023 launch, extensive in-orbit testing revealed that all other systems were performing at or above expectations. While the antenna anomaly reduced overall capacity, the satellite's robust design still enables it to deliver high-speed broadband services to government and commercial customers across North America.