LYNGBY, Denmark - Installed with Cobham SATCOM's AVIATOR 350 SwiftBroadband solution with HGA-7000 antenna, the Saab 340 Maritime Surveillance Aircraft (MSA) will be on show at this year's Singapore Airshow following the completion of all certification to the expected level.

The lightweight AVIATOR 350 with High Gain Antenna supports a wide range of critical communication applications on board the multi-role surveillance aircraft which are fundamental in its mission to safeguard territorial waters.

With communication a key ingredient of maritime domain awareness, the Cobham SATCOM equipment is able to provide continuing communication capabilities. The AVIATOR 350 ensures the Saab 340 MSA is equipped with Secure-AIS data links and a reliable satcom system which makes it possible to send and receive orders from/to higher command or other units in a secure way, providing a real-time maritime common situational picture and a fast link for orders.

Making its Singapore Airshow debut, the Saab 340 MSA is in the midst of a promotional tour of Asia during which it will visit a number of countries where interest is high in aircraft with maritime surveillance capabilities. Many of these key regions are close to areas affected by pirates in the South China Sea or small Caribbean states in the front line against drug trafficking.

Best suited to coast guard and light military duties such as anti-piracy, search and rescue, smuggling and illegal immigration, the Saab 340 MSA is a cost-effective solution for those operators who require a coastal and blue water surveillance and long-range search-and-rescue (SAR) capability, but without the anti-submarine and anti-surface vessel warfare abilities of a fully-fledged maritime patrol aircraft (MPA).

Johan Rattvall, Director of Sales and Marketing for Support and Services at Saab, said that now the certification procedure for the Saab 340 MSA has been completed to the expected level, there has been a lot of interest from potential customers.

"We will have a list of things to fit depending on customer requirements, but the platform itself is now pretty much certified," he said. "We are very pleased with the attention the aircraft received at the Dubai Airshow and there has been a really good response to the general concept.

"After the market introduction at Farnborough Air Show in 2012, the number of interested customers has increased dramatically. Our capability to demonstrate a complete fully operational system, including the AVIATOR 350 and HGA-7000, has brought confidence to potential customers. We are convinced that the Saab 340 MSA will bring increased maritime domain awareness and control to a number of customer nations in the next couple of years."

The Saab 340 MSA has the capability to respond rapidly to emerging maritime security threats, offering surveillance, transport and medical evacuation. Providing high-speed, reliable connectivity, the AVIATOR 350 supports a wide range of communications applications on-board including voice, data link and video streaming, ensuring the aircraft's suitability for long endurance missions.  

"On the Saab 340 MSA, Cobham's AVIATOR 350 with HGA-7000 is able to support critical communication with ground control, ensuring rapid response to emerging maritime security and safety threats," commented Rickard Hjelmberg, Vice President of Marketing & Sales for Maritime Surveillance at Saab Business Area Support Services. 

Providing data speeds of up to 432kbps, Cobham's AVIATOR 350 with HGA-7000 is a compact and lightweight SwiftBroadband solution that offers exceptional performance and functionality even though it is small in size. The system can also be easily customized to meet specific requirements of military and defence missions.

The versatile HGA-7000 is a phased array fuselage mount antenna with a low profile and small footprint which is suitable for installation on air transport aircraft and business jets.

For further information about Cobham SATCOM's AVIATOR portfolio, please visit Booth M87 during this year's Singapore Airshow or visit www.cobham.com/SATCOM.

For further information about the AVIATOR 350 installed on the 340 MSA, please visit Saab at Booth C11 during this year's Singapore Airshow. To see the Saab 340 MSA, go to the static display area.

About Cobham

Cobham protects lives and livelihoods with its differentiated technology and know-how, operating with a deep insight to customer needs and agility. The Group offers an innovative range of technologies and services to solve challenging problems across commercial, defence and security markets, from deep space to the depths of the ocean. It has market leading positions in air-to-air refuelling; aviation services; audio, video and data communications, including satellite communications; defence electronics; life support and mission equipment. The most important thing Cobham builds is trust.

About Cobham SATCOM

Cobham SATCOM develops, manufactures, sells and supports satellite and radio communication terminals and earth stations for land, marine and airborne applications. With the ever increasing demand for communication, our products and services are used to satisfy the needs of a wide variety of commercial, governmental and recreational applications.

Cobham SATCOM uses state-of-the-art technologies to design affordable, highly reliable high performance systems that have decreased over time in terms of size, weight and power consumption. Our products enable people to stay in touch under the most challenging and demanding conditions. When traditional communication technologies fail, Cobham SATCOM's products will keep providing our customers with high quality voice, data, and multimedia communications.

Our product designs have evolved tremendously during their decades in service in use around the world in a variety of domains and environments. We market under the AVIATOR, EXPLORER, SAILOR® and Sea Tel brands. Please refer to our websites for our list of global distributors and partners. Cobham SATCOM has design, development and manufacturing facilities in Denmark, Norway, South Africa and the USA.

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