Hughes and Tachyon Join Forces to Develop Advanced Airborne Networking Solutions for Military & Government

SAN DIEGO and GERMANTOWN, Md., Jan. 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Tachyon Networks, developer of aXiom end-to-end satellite solutions for fixed, portable and comms-on-the-move (COTM) applications and Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES) the global leader in broadband satellite networks and services, today announced their intention to cooperate in the development of end-to-end airborne COTM solutions for military and government markets.  This broad-based cooperation will focus on solutions for manned and unmanned aircraft, initially fixed-wing and later rotary wing aircraft, which require full-motion HD video transmission capabilities.

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"We are pleased to be working with Tachyon on the development of airborne COTM solutions," stated Rick Lober, Vice President and General Manager of the Defense & Intelligence Systems Division (DISD) at Hughes.  "Both Hughes and Tachyon have developed advanced technologies for airborne networking, which together offer an excellent opportunity to address the challenges associated with high-speed video transmission from various types of aircraft while in flight."

Tachyon has developed its aXiom end-to-end satellite broadband solutions for air, land and sea, and will integrate a key element – the Linux-based aXiom Services Platform (ASP) – to the solutions resulting from its cooperation with Hughes. The ASP facilitates seamless integration across all communications equipment onboard aircraft, as well as enabling interoperability with the end-to-end satellite network. The ASP also enables onboard display of all network monitoring applications and operational data with an easy-to-use graphical user interface (GUI).

Hughes has recently demonstrated its Airborne Video Solution, which employs the high-performance Hughes HX router, for fixed wing aircraft. Hughes is building on its commercial aviation broadband offering, thereby facilitating adoption of a COTS-based solution by the airborne Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) community.  The cooperation with Tachyon will allow Hughes to migrate this solution to new military and government programs.

"Hughes has successfully demonstrated its advanced modem solution for fixed wing aircraft," said Dan Negroni, VP of Sales and Marketing for Tachyon Networks.  "Tachyon is excited to have an opportunity to jointly develop a solution that brings full-motion video capability to additional aircraft platforms, including a future focus on rotary wing aircraft, in support of the ISR community."

About Tachyon Networks

Tachyon Networks, developer of aXiom end-to-end satellite solutions for fixed, portable and COTM applications, delivers the highest quality managed network services for data, voice and video. Tachyon serves government agencies and enterprises that require secure, mission-critical communications over air, land and sea.  Enabled by the software-based aXiom Services Platform (ASP), Tachyon's technology-agnostic solutions include management and operation of space segment capacity and teleport facilities, VSAT equipment and antennas and managed network services. Tachyon's financially backed, industry-leading service-level agreement (SLA) guarantees a superior quality of service (QoS).  For additional information, please visit www.tachyon.com.

About Hughes Network Systems

Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES) is the world's leading provider of satellite broadband for home and office, delivering innovative network technologies, managed services and solutions for enterprises and governments globally. HughesNet® is the #1 high-speed satellite Internet service in the marketplace, with offerings to suit every budget. To date, HUGHES has shipped more than 2.5 million systems to customers in over 100 countries, representing over 50% market share. Its products employ global standards approved by TIA, ETSI and ITU organizations, including IPoS/DVB-S2, RSM-A, and GMR-1.

Headquartered outside Washington, D.C., in Germantown, Maryland, USA, Hughes Network Systems, LLC (Hughes) operates sales and support offices worldwide, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hughes Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: HUGH). For more information, please visit www.hughes.com.

©2011 Hughes Network Systems, LLC. Hughes and HughesNet are trademarks of Hughes Network Systems, LLC.

©2011 Tachyon Networks, Inc. Tachyon Networks and aXiom by Tachyon are trademarks of Tachyon Networks, Inc.

SOURCE Hughes Network Systems, LLC