Cobham, Avionica Team on SwiftBroadband-Safety for Bizjets

In a move that aims to bring Inmarsat's Swiftbroadband-Safety (SB-S) to the business jet market, Cobham Satcom and Avionica are teaming up to provide what they say is the smallest and lightest Inmarsat satcom system for simultaneous cockpit and cabin communications.

The offering combines Cobham's Aviator 300D satcom system with Avionica's avWiFi router. This pairing allows operators to use SB-S for safety-critical services, including FANS, CPDLC, ACARS and cockpit voice communications, while still leveraging SwiftBroadband connectivity in the cabin for non-safety-related voice and data exchanges. Avionica's router segregates the safety-critical messaging from the non-safety communications, all while using a single SwiftBroadband channel.

Integration testing has already been completed, according to the companies. Cobham said it is currently evaluating supplemental type certificate opportunities for several business aircraft, including Dassault Falcons, Bombardier Challengers and various Gulfstream models.

SB-S is satellite communications connectivity provider Inmarsat's latest flight deck communications service. Its global coverage is FANS-1/A compliant and delivers data services over a secured IP datalink, as well as multiple voice channels.