Astronics has long been known as a trusted supplier in aviation and defense. Offering a cadre of power, connectivity, lighting, interiors, structures, and test solutions, the East Aurora, New York-headquartered firm has traditionally taken a conservative approach to the market, and intends to stay the course with that model.
“Our goal is to always just have the capabilities to deliver a superior product,” Astronics CSC director of business development Alan Manns told Runway Girl Network at the APEX Global Expo in Long Beach.
That applies to the latest battles playing out right now in inflight connectivity, where the landscape is evolving to accommodate Low Earth Orbit (LEO), Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) and even Highly Elliptical Orbit (HEO) satellites, in addition to the traditional geostationary (GEO) satellite constellations, plus various multi-orbit combinations thereof.
“For us, it isn’t about picking winners and losers. It’s making sure that the market has the hardware,” said Manns. And whilst there are disruptive forces afoot, Astronics still sees plenty of business to be had for stalwart players.
I don’t know that anybody is waving white flags anywhere in this marketplace. So I think, you know, there are key competitors and they all have strong capabilities and different capabilities as their core competencies. But I don’t think you can write anybody out. I mean the story is far from over.
Is there a role for GEO-specific IFC, whether that means being wedded to a single GEO satellite or a single GEO satellite network, RGN asked?
“Absolutely,” said Manns, “there is a use case for everything that’s out there and those assets are going to be assets far into the future.”
For its part, Astronics has its fingers in a number of proverbial pies including on the Airbus linefit, supplier-furnished HBCplus IFC program, where Astronics is providing both the Outside Aircraft Equipment (OAE) crown and the dual-modem MODMAN (modem manager) to support the Ka-band side of the program.
Ka-band IFC under HBCplus is going to go live on Ethiopian and Emirates’ A350s any day now. And of course Airbus has secured a line up of new customers, 13 on last count, including Thai Airways International and Turkish Airlines, as announced at the APEX Global Expo.
That’s good news for Astronics, which is “extremely committed” to the HBCplus program. Its dual-modem MODMAN integrates multiple third-party aero modem cards in a 4MCU enclosure.
“We’ve been in this process with [HBCplus terminal provider] Safran Passenger Innovations (SPI) for quite some time and we’re just seeing the rollout now. So we’re excited to see it continue to grow, supporting SPI, and Viasat and the other MSPs that are coming on line as well. So I know that right now Viasat is the first installations; they’re going out there [with Ethiopian and Emirates]. But soon SES will be in there [including for Thai and Turkish.] We see Hughes has made their announcements to join as MSP and we believe that there will be others that are coming on line there as well.”
One of the things that’s fascinating about HBCplus is the fact that airlines can swap MSPs without changing the hardware, which on the Ka-band side of the program is supported by an SPI terminal based on ThinKom Solutions’ agnostic Ka2517 VICTS antenna.
“The idea is that Airbus is able to provide their customers with choice and I think that’s the key to the HBCplus program,” noted Manns.
On the retrofit front, Astronics has secured supplemental type certification (STC) on the Boeing 777 for an IFC package that nicely complements what airframers are doing from a linefit, factory-install perspective. The package, pictured above, includes the ThinKom Ka2517 antenna, Astronics’ dual-modem MODMAN and Astronics’ OAE radome/support structure system.
Gearing up for multi-orbit IFC
Astronics’ MODMAN is flexible. In addition to supporting single or dual-modem architectures, it can be further augmented to facilitate a third modem per ARINC standards.
“The initial launch was in support of Inmarsat now Viasat and that focused on primarily a single [modem], but the new ones that are coming up, the new additions, like SES, need multiple to support their [multi-orbit] network,” explained Manns.
Adding LEO satcom for either LEO-specific or multi-orbit LEO/GEO IFC adds an interesting twist to the equation because the LEO modem in some instances is not necessarily in the E&E bay, as least in the first-generation Ku-band installs. Does that architecture create any kind of complexity for Astronics, RGN asked?
“From our perspective, the modem — where it’s mounted — is determined in this case by the OEM, meaning that if they’re going to accept that solution as part of their OAE offering, then that’s fine. But from what we understand, they still want to stick with the the MODMAN architecture in those installations. But it’s yet to be determined … it’s our understanding that if they did move forward with a LEO installation, it could still fall back on a MODMAN architecture,” Manns said.
In addition to the dual-modem MODMAN, Astronics — which acquired Telefonix in 2017 — offers the core hardware needed to support a cabin wireless network including a server and wireless access points, and mainly competes with Kontron.
On the WAPs front, “we have over a quarter million flying”, Manns revealed. “So I mean, we’ve been putting these out there for over a decade now.”
Astronics CSC is made-up of what used to be — or what was formerly known as — Telefonix, Armstrong Aerospace, the Custom Control Concepts and then the AeroSat group out of New Hampshire. So that’s the group, CSC, that I work for and we focus on the connectivity installations.
But primarily the hardware comes out of what used to be Telefonix. The difference is we now have the Armstrong side of it. So we have a lot of our [own] STC capabilities, our installation design and then the the OAE design and certification as well.
Through the years, Astronics has provided antennas for the IFC market, including a traditional Ku-band gimbaled antenna (still in use at Delta Air Lines on certain widebodies). But its focus today is on maintaining an agnostic view of the market.
“So at this point we’re not pushing any specific antenna technology. We’re the integrator, the packager and the certification arm that can help get your technology under [the hood],” Manns explained. “So whether it’s working on HBCplus with ThinKom [whose VICTS hardware powers the SPI Ka-band terminal] or you know, the new antennas that are coming out, that’s something that we continue to work on.”
Astronics is also involved in business aviation in a variety of ways, including providing a tail-mount antenna for IFC. But as the BizAv IFC market evolves, with Gogo acquiring Satcom Direct (and offering its Galileo product line) and SpaceX’s Starlink making headway, “At this point, the future’s open, but we’ll support that [tail-mount] as long as required,” assured Manns.
Interestingly, Astronics is engaged in a lot of cabin modification work for airlines, with multiple projects primarily in North America and South America. It’s doing “full cabin refresh” projects for airlines, explained Brian Roland, director of airline relations at Astronics CSC, who manages the work packages.
“So that’s a real difference for us. It can be independent of IFE and IFC. [We support] rebranding, seat installations. A lot of airlines switch out their seating products.”
But because Astronics remains a conservative company “and longevity is key for us”, said Manns, the firm is more focused on “dependability and our ability to execute” than getting the word out.
“So I think when you ask, ‘why don’t we lean into it,’ I think we do, but it’s measured and it’s going to be predictable growth that we can support. And we know that we don’t leave anybody wanting more. We have to make sure that we grow our capabilities in line with what the airlines’ expectations are. There are other folks that’ll grow quickly and take projects that maybe they can’t complete.”
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Featured image credited to Astronics
