AAI, ViaSat team for UAS satcom capability

AAI Unmanned Aircraft Systems and ViaSat have formed a strategic alliance to develop beyond-line-of-sight satellite communications capabilities for AAI’s existing and next-generation unmanned aircraft, AAI officials said Jan. 23.

The companies will collaborate on the Forward Airborne Secure Transmission and Communication (FASTCOM) system, which will be a mobile cellular network designed to accommodate top secret smart phone communications.

The effort to develop FASTCOM also will involve Overwatch, which like AAI, is a unit of Textron Systems.