Honeywell and Viasat have received positive feedback for recent over-the-air in-flight testing for SwiftJet, Viasat's fastest ever L-band connectivity service for the business aviation industry, enabled through a simple Honeywell terminal upgrade.

The testing successfully demonstrated four channel aggregation over Viasat's satellites and radio access network (RAN) by using the Honeywell HD-710 multi-channel satellite communications solution to achieve stable, optimal data transmission speeds for Viasat's SwiftJet service.

Throughout the testing period, performance was consistently robust and reliable, including through spot beam transitions that maximise the available frequency of satellite transmissions by concentrating a satellite signal over a limited geographic area on Earth. SwiftJet met performance expectations both while in flight and while transitioning spot beams across the global footprint of Viasat's L-band satellite network.

SwiftJet will enter commercial service later this year, offering seamless global coverage and ensuring passengers can stay connected with colleagues, friends and family wherever they fly. SwiftJet will provide passengers with the ability to communicate over email, text and video calls, browse the internet and enjoy streaming services while in-flight.

“SwiftJet's results represent a major leap forward for L-band connectivity. Honeywell and Viasat have now proven the technology from end-to-end across the satellite network, giving our customers confidence to proceed with SwiftJet commercial deployment and entry into service by the end of the year,” says Mark Goodman, Sr. director of product management, Honeywell Aerospace. “Existing customers of Viasat's SwiftBroadband connectivity service will benefit from SwiftJet's advanced speeds by making an easy and straightforward upgrade to their existing Honeywell L-band terminal, without having to change any wiring or antenna hardware.”

“SwiftJet has rewritten the rules of what's possible with L-band connectivity for business aviation. It has unlocked previously unachievable capabilities so passengers can stay in touch, in control and entertained, wherever they fly, from the busiest airspace to the most remote locations,” notes Melinda Janda, vice president of business aviation commercial strategy, Viasat. “We're delighted with the results of recent testing, which proved we can even stream high-definition videos and conduct video calls. These positive results not only bring us one step closer to SwiftJet's entry into service, but also underscore Viasat and Honeywell's shared commitment to increase the capability of our customers' hardware after they've invested in our solutions.”

SwiftJet has been engineered for today's applications that demand faster connection speeds, combined with L-band's characteristic resilience, security and high availability. It will offer maximum speeds of 2.6 Mbps, up to six times faster than Viasat's existing L-band business aviation connectivity service, SwiftBroadband, through an upgrade to Honeywell's existing terminals, including the HD-710, HSD-440, HSD-400 and Aspire 400. These terminals are commonly found on Gulfstream, Dassault and Embraer platforms. SwiftJet is also available as a new installation, following a similarly quick and convenient process as all Honeywell L-band terminals.

The increased connection speeds enabled by SwiftJet will be available on monthly data plans. The operator does not need to lease capacity and does not need to pay per minute of use. The service and Honeywell L-band terminal upgrades are available for purchase now. New terminals will start shipping in Q4 2024 and a return to factory service bulletin will be available for purchase starting in Q4 2024.