MAZ, a Saudi group specialized in aviation, information technology and environment protection, announced that GDC Technics — an aerospace company and member of MAZ group — has completed the development of the Falcon 300 system for satellite communication, which represents the future generation of SatCom (satellite-based communications) technologies. The system was installed, tested and licensed by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on a Boeing 737 for one of the company’s clients in the US. It achieved a connection speed between the airplane and the satellites, which is more than six times faster than the current speed.
The system is characterized by its ability to connect with future satellite technologies that are expected to operate in the coming years, ensuring full compatibility with future satellite systems for airlines. A communication antenna was also designed to be 40 percent more streamlined and 30 percent lighter than the currently used technologies, which will contribute to lowering the cost of fuel for airlines.
Mohammed Al-Zeer, chairman of MAZ and chairman of GDC Technics, said: “One of the group’s strategies is developing technical solutions for the global market as part of our humble efforts to contribute to Saudi Vision 2030. Thus at MAZ group, we take pride in this achievement accomplished by GDC Technics. We are also proud of MAZ group’s initiative to transfer its development to the global market, and we are currently working on settling this technology in the Kingdom.”
“The Falcon 300 is marked with a global precedence by exceeding a speed of 150 megabits per second for satellite communication between the plane and the satellite, a speed that is more than six times faster than the current available speeds. At MAZ, we will not stop at this achievement; we have already started to develop the second generation of the system, and our goal is to be the first company, on the international level, to go beyond the speed of 1 gigabit per second for satellite communication between the airplane and satellite,” he added.
It is worth noting that during the system test phase, a virtual meeting was held between members from Saudi Arabia, Europe and North America, and simultaneously, a number of devices were operated to download information and entertainment material, as well as live stream from different news and entertainment outlets with 4K technology. The test was successful and smooth and it was overseen by executive officials from the company.
MAZ’s initiative, called “Contributor” (Mousahim), aims at contributing to the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, by creating research activities that aspire to develop global market technologies in the areas of improving the aircraft performance, satellite communication, information technology, and environment protection. The research activities resulted in 14 worldwide patents and five products for the international market.
