GATR Technologies® Jan. 7 said under a $440 million ceiling value, five-year Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract from the Army the company will provide its Wideband Global Services (WGS) inflatable antennas for the Army, Marines and other commands and services.
Photo: GATR Technologies
The contract, from Project Manager, Warfighter Information Network-Tactical (PM WIN-T) and Product Manager Satellite Communications (PdM SATCOM), Commercial SATCOM Terminal Program (CSTP) Office, allows the military to procure GATR’s WGS-certified Inflatable Satellite Antennae (ISA) and associated hardware, services and support.
GATR President Paul Gierow said: “This contract validates the sustained adoption of GATR’s technology by the Warfighter and signifies our evolution as provider of integrated solutions.”
The key innovation of GATR’s antenna is a flexible parabolic dish mounted within an inflatable sphere, reducing weight and packaged volume by as much as 80 percent and thereby improving the agility of deployed military and disaster response personnel, the company said in a statement.
The GATR ISA also costs less to procure than conventional deployable systems, and dramatically cuts transportation expenses due to its lightweight design.
Finally, the larger dish size enables more efficient use of satellite bandwidth capacity, increasing bandwidth for users and allowing more users to communicate simultaneously.
U.S. and allied militaries have fielded over 300 GATR ISA terminals since 2008, proving the technology’s strength and reliability, the company statement said.
Gierow said: “We were extremely fortunate to leverage early Small Business Innovative Research contracts and Quick Reaction Funding from the Department of Defense to help us initially field and improve our technology. This contract allows conventional forces to take advantage of the same cost savings and lighter profile already benefitting the Special Operations community, Marine Corps Expeditionary Units, and other early adopters.”