Satcom Direct (SD) has added a new Canadian production campus to its global footprint in Ottawa, Ontario. The decision to develop the purpose-built engineering and production facility was driven by the industry shift towards the digitisation of aviation and the need to innovate hardware that provides robust connectivity to support communications and the practical applications of multi-faceted data generated by aircraft.

SD currently provides business and government aircraft with cabin routers, along with datalink units and handsets. The new facility has been designed to meet and exceed growing demands and expectations of existing and future customers by setting new industry-wide hardware and manufacturing standards. The Ottawa-based SD team is also responsible for the ongoing development and subsequent manufacturing of the SD Plane Simple antenna terminal systems, in partnership with Germany-based QEST, Quantenelektronische Systeme.

The collaboration is bringing to market an antenna series including a Ku-band and Ka-band dual variant tail-mounted antenna, an electronically steered, fuselage mounted phased-array antenna and a Certus hardware solution to support the global Iridium NEXT network. The advanced range of antennas will provide a wider choice of flexible connectivity solutions for all sizes of aircraft from light to heavy jets around the globe.

The engineering laboratories, thermal and electromagnetic chambers and production workshops are also equipped to produce and repair in-service hardware, including the high-tech SDR series of cabin routers. The expanded footprint supports SD's continued strategy of originating products and services specifically designed and evolved for the business and government aviation sectors. “Our investment reflects our commitment to supporting pioneering product development, technical expertise and quality manufacturing processes,” says SD Ottawa general manager Joanne Walker. To this end the new facility has already achieved AS9100 certification, confirming the high-quality standards of its design, process and manufacturing capabilities.

The campus is located on Canada's largest technology park, Kanata North, which has a history of developing products for the communications industry. “Moving to this outstanding technology hub locates us amongst like-minded companies and will have the added benefit of attracting the right type of qualified professionals to work with us, which is essential for continued success. The investment in the infrastructure and people ensures we continue delivering powerful solutions to enhance aviation operations globally,” notes Jim Jensen, SD CEO and founder.

The announcement follows hard-on-the-heels of news about the upgrade of SD's NOC at its global headquarters in Melbourne, Florida, and further confirms SD's ambition to transform business aviation connectivity by delivering an ecosystem integrating avionics, software, ground infrastructure and powerful cybersecurity services with high quality customer support.