ASC Signal Corp. has been awarded a $3.8 M sub-contract by L-3 Communications Systems-West to build a dual-band antenna system to support global data collection and dissemination worldwide for the US Navy MQ-4C Broad Area Maritime Surveillance Unmanned Aircraft System (BAMS UAS) program.

The advanced antenna terminals will be designed to meet the stringent Army Forces Strategic Command (ARSTRAT) standards required to operate with the US Department of Defense’s Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) constellation; a high capacity satellite system deployed across the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic Ocean regions that supports BAMS and other military platforms.

ASC Signal will provide L-3 Communications Systems-West with precision-tracking antenna systems that communicate with the WGS satellites in both the X- and Ka-Band frequencies, enabling full operational capability by the BAMS UAS over large maritime distances for long periods of time.

The antenna system, which employs ASC’s advanced Sub-Reflector Tracking (SRT) to permit 6-axis tracking of satellites, is part of a contract Northrop Grumman awarded to L-3 Communications to develop the communications equipment required for the BAMS UAS program. The US Navy awarded the BAMS UAS contract to Northrop Grumman in April, 2008 to develop the MQ-4C UAS and other hardware.

“The US Government, including the Department of Defense, is looking for advanced satellite technology that will ensure reliable communications over the lifetime of its programs,” said Keith Buckley, President and CEO of ASC Signal. “Through our provision of the ASC Signal antenna systems to L-3 Communications and the BAMS team, the Department of Defense is gaining a proven, flexible commercial technology that can be used today with minimal enhancements or costs. We developed this antenna system and all of our other antenna technology based on our long-standing experience in manufacturing rugged, tailored communications systems that meet critical customer requirements.”

The DoD ARSTRAT certification will ensure that all WGS terminals, including these from ASC Signal, conform to stringent performance and operational control requirements defined by Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Strategic Forces Command, and that they meet with all applicable military standards. This ASC Signal technology and its ability to meet strict government requirements reinforces the company’s engineering leadership in providing commercial innovation to government customers, ensuring reliability on every continent.