“Raw dogging”—the latest TikTok trend of taking long airline flights without ever checking apps or viewing digital entertainment—isn’t for everyone. Most of us can barely buckle up before we’re checking our phones, posting on social media, or answering work emails. That makes reliable connectivity a key goal for commercial airlines. And for military aircraft, connectivity takes on far greater national security importance. 

Now a Fort Worth based-company, Stellar Blu Solutions, has reached a milestone in delivering a powerful high-tech connectivity solution for commercial and military aircraft alike. The strategic partner of Virginia- based BAE Systems has completed qualification and earned supplemental type certification on its multi-orbit Sidewinder aero terminal, which uses BAE Systems’ Ku-band electronically scanned antenna (ESA).

With this milestone achieved, the the companies can now begin mass production and installation of the antennas to support in-flight connectivity “on commercial aircraft, business jets, and other military and government platforms,” BAE Systems said.

Sidewinder is fuselage-mounted

Tracy Trent

Stellar Blu’s aerodynamic, fuselage-mounted Sidewinder terminal includes “all external and cabin components to support internet service providers offering multi-orbit connectivity.” said BAE Systems, which designs and produces the transmit antenna, receive antenna, and antenna control software that Stellar Blu integrates into its terminal.

“The need for quality in-flight connectivity is growing every day, as displayed by our already considerable number of orders,” Paula Burns, VP and GM of Tactical Solutions for BAE Systems Space & Mission Systems, said in a statement. “This is a major milestone for both BAE Systems and Stellar Blu, and it will serve as a building block as we continue to advance these capabilities for our commercial and military customers.”

In March, BAE System’s ESA completed its DO-160 airborne equipment qualification,  then moved directly to production.

Tracy Trent, CEO of Stellar Blu, called the two companies’ collaboration “foundational to our success, which is reflected in our backlog and the overwhelming interest in every aero market.”

“We continue to invest in the adaption of Sidewinder with airframe original equipment manufacturers and the development of new products, utilizing proven BAE Systems technology to bring a range of solutions to our customers,” he added in a statement.

Sidewinder to get some frosty testing in ‘polar areas’

After completing flight testing in June, the Sidewinder terminal received its first supplemental type certification (STC) from the Federal Aviation Administration, BAE Systems said, enabling airlines to begin integrating the system onto regional jets. “The terminal will continue with global performance validation and testing with a second aircraft, including in polar areas,” BAE Systems said.

The two companies said they’ve ramped production and begun shipment to meet more than 1,000 existing orders, including several hundred installations scheduled over the next year. The companies added that they will continue to collaborate on next-generation terminal designs focused on Ku and Ka low-Earth orbit (LEO) optimized terminals.

BAE Systems said its antennas support “multi-orbit satellite communications” and have been extensively flight tested on LEO and geostationary orbit satellite networks. The low-profile antenna met all qualification requirements without requiring an external radome, reducing the cost and installation complexity while improving radio frequency performance, the company added.

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