Gogo Introduces Large Aircraft LEO Broadband Antenna

Following the launch of its HDX small form factor antenna, broadband specialist Gogo Business Aviation (Booth O98) has unveiled the FDX antenna, which is intended for larger aircraft and offers what the company claims is “best in class” performance. At the same time, the company has announced that its low-earth-orbit (LEO) systems will be grouped under the new “Gogo Galileo” brand.

“With the introduction of the FDX antenna our Avance [in flight communications] platform now offers a complete portfolio of North American air-to-ground and global LEO products to meet the unique needs of each segment of the business aviation market,” said president and COO Sergio Aguirre. “We have solutions to fit any aircraft size, flying any mission, whether the owner is focused on value, high performance, or redundancy, all coupled with our award-winning customer support.”

Like the HDX, the FDX is an electronically-steered unit that connects with the company’s LEO broadband solution, which uses a satellite constellation and global gateways provided by OneWeb. The antenna has been developed in collaboration with Hughes Network Systems, and Hughes will manufacture the product. It offers faster data speeds, higher throughput, and lower latency than current geosynchronous (GEO) satellite systems can offer. This support simultaneous unique VPN, interactive video, and gaming sessions.

In the meantime, Gogo reports that the process of obtaining the first-article supplemental type certificate for the HDX antenna on the Bombardier Challenger 300 is underway, with Duncan Aviation providing engineering and certification support. Gogo reports that 595 of the nearly 900 Challenger 300-series aircraft have the company’s ATG system installed. About half of them are equipped with the Avance platform, which can be integrated with the Gogo Galileo LEO system.