ViaSat has commenced services from its ViaSat-3 F1 (VS3 F1) satellite to US government clients, specifically the US Marine Corps.
The VS3 F1 satellite, part of the ViaSat-3 network, is now supporting the Marine Wing Communications Squadron 38 (MWCS-38) and the 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment.
The MWCS-38 is tasked with expeditionary communications for the Aviation Combat Element within the Marine Air Ground Task Force.
It is utilising multi-mission terminals to access the new satellite services.
Similarly, the 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment, stationed in Hawaii, is leveraging the VS3 F1 for enhanced mission and reconnaissance communication capabilities.
The ViaSat-3 constellation, upon completion, will consist of three satellites aimed at delivering high-throughput and adaptable broadband connectivity.
This network is designed to fulfil the stringent performance, security, and resilience demands of US and allied military operations globally.
Viasat Government president Susan Miller said: “This is an important milestone for our government services and solutions team and US Department of Defense and global government customers.
“The ViaSat-3 satellite network was designed with government missions in mind, offering greater capacity and the flexibility to dynamically shift bandwidth where it's needed most. The use of small beams, beam shaping, encryption and ViaSat-3's unique anti-jam capabilities are designed to provide secure and reliable connectivity to support the most critical government missions.”
Despite experiencing an antenna deployment issue post-launch in April 2023, the VS3 F1 satellite has otherwise met or surpassed operational expectations through rigorous in-orbit testing.
The antenna anomaly has led to reduced capacity, yet the satellite's resilience and high-performance design enable it to provide robust broadband services for both government and commercial entities across North America.
Viasat global space networks president Craig Miller said: "It's exciting to see both government and commercial customers beginning to leverage this next-generation network.
“The two additional ViaSat-3 satellites are currently in the late stages of production and testing, including the successful completion of thermal vacuum testing on ViaSat-3 F3 recently and the successful completion of mechanical environmental testing on ViaSat-3 F2.”
In 2023, ViaSat secured $80m contracts to develop Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) systems for defence applications in the land, maritime and space domains.
