Ball
Ball

AIRLINK® Antennas

AIRLINK® SATCOM Antennas 

High speed data & digital voice

Our AIRLINK® aeronautical system antennas provide commercial and government users reliable, affordable and secure inflight connectivity. AIRLINK® antenna systems cover L-, X-, Ku- and Ka-Band spectrums.

Ball has developed AIRLINK® Ku-100 and Ka-100 solutions that bring the power of planar phased arrays to today’s SATCOM challenges. The planar phased array designs deliver low profile, high bandwidth capability to mobile platforms communicating with High Throughput Satellites (HTS) in Geosynchronous Equatorial Orbit (GEO). The terminals advanced electronic beam steering eliminates mechanical moving parts, enabling the next generation Low Earth Orbit/Medium Earth Orbit (LEO/MEO) constellations.

Our AIRLINK® HGA, X1 and X2 aeronautical systems provide reliable and secure communications for Government and commercial customers. These products fly on over 1600 Aircraft today.  The AIRLINK® HGA airborne antenna system provides in-flight phone and data transmission using the INMARSAT system of geostationary satellites. It relays information around the Earth using high-gain antenna systems and flies on nearly every commercial airline in the world.  The AIRLINK X-1 and X-2 antenna systems provide in-flight connectivity using XSTAR, WGS or Skynet geostationary satellites.  

Sub-array Architecture and Cost

To keep costs low, we leverage commercial off-the-shelf technologies and processes. The sub-arrays utilize highly integrated semiconductor devices and standard circuit card materials, avoiding unproven materials. The resulting sub-arrays are designed for high-volume manufacturing and are produced like any other electronics communication equipment. By leveraging high volume contract manufacturing facilities and design for manufacturability expertise, cost is driven down as volumes increases. Having a standard building block drives economy of scale for all users.

AIRLINK antenna system
Ball AIRLINK SATCOM antenna

AIRLINK® HGA Product Support

We support our AIRLINK® HGA product line with an FAA PART 145 Certified Repair Station for our commercial, aerospace and military customers. For service, support, parts or a quote, contact us at AIRLINK@ball.com. Please note an RMA number from Ball Aerospace is required before returning hardware for repair. For part descriptions and numbers, see the table below.
 
Description Part Number    
High Gain Antenna  (HGA)    2 each 513738-5XX
Beam Steering Unit  (BSU)     2 each 513739-5XX
Diplexer/Low Noise Amplifier (DIP/LNA)     2 each   (Type A) 511510-500
Diplexer/Low Noise Ampliifer (DIP/LNA)     2 each   (Type F) 2292643-500
High Power Relay (HPR)     1 each 301706-500
Combiner    1 each 300114-500
Cable 513881-5XX
Cable 510733-5XX