Airbus Defence and Space (Airbus DS) has signed a further three partners to its channel partner programme for Skynet services, as it continues to work with service providers to develop new partnerships to deliver Skynet military satellite communication services, notably to the Asia-Pacific region.

The announcement follows the move of Skynet 5A from 6° East to 95° East to provide global X-band and UHF coverage in this region. The relocation was initiated to extend the Skynet constellation’s coverage and services from 178° West to 163° East, including the Indian Ocean and Western Pacific region. The Skynet network now offers global military coverage, expanding core service reach.

Hughes Network Systems (Hughes), Inmarsat Government and SpeedCast will be offering Skynet services as part of their already extensive and proven portfolio, to Australian, New Zealand and US forces operating across the globe.

• Inmarsat Government will include Skynet services as part of their portfolio offer to US government customers.
• Hughes will use the partnership offering easily deployable services for the U.S. government involved in tactical missions, primarily using the XEBRA service, which is a solution using the Hughes HM300 lightweight X-band satellite terminal and Airbus DS’s Skynet capacity.
• SpeedCast will be offering the tactical secure communications services to the Australian and New Zealand government. In addition, Airbus DS has recently appointed SpeedCast to manage a new anchor station facility for the Skynet 5A military satellite, which is based at SpeedCast’s existing teleport in Adelaide, Australia.

Airbus DS owns and operates the hardened Skynet constellation of eight X-band satellites and the ground network to provide all Beyond Line of Sight (BLOS) communications to the UK Ministry of Defence. The contract also allows other NATO and allied governments to use the Skynet system to augment their existing services.