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Artist’s rendering of ViaSat-3 broadband communications satellite.
Inflight connectivity provider Viasat said it connected with its new ViaSat-3 broadband communications satellite for the first time with a business jet during test flights on Hawaii flight routes.
An initial 5 hr. flight from San Diego to Hawaii using a Gulfstream G280 fitted with the company’s Global Aero Terminal (GAT) 5510 hardware “delivered an enhanced connectivity experience that exceeded all performance targets for consistency, reliability and speed,” a feat later repeated on a Gulfstream G-III, Viasat stated July 7.
Connecting to the ViaSat-3 satellite was made possible by a software upgrade to the GAT-5510 terminal that can be downloaded over the air and configured remotely on the aircraft. Viasat said it has completed network tests and is working with partners and customers on fleetwide deployments of the upgrade by late July.
Viasat says it has activated the GAT-5510 terminal, which connects with the company’s JetXP inflight broadband service, on 250 private jets. The terminal is available as a line-fit option on G280s, Bombardier C3500s and Embraer Praetors, or by retrofit from Viasat authorized dealers.
The ViaSat-3 F1, or ViaSat Americas satellite, is the first of three new ultra-high-capacity Ka-band satellites the company plans to deploy in geostationary orbit to vastly increase its available capacity and coverage.
After it was launched into space in April 2023, the Americas satellite experienced an anomaly, or malfunction, during the deployment of its reflector antenna, which substantially reduced its capacity. Plans call for swapping its coverage area with the next, ViaSat-3 F2 spacecraft, according to media reports.
Carlsbad, California-based Viasat announced in August 2024 that ViaSat-3 F1 had entered commercial service for airline customers operating over North America, including routes to Hawaii.
“Business aviation customers have been eager to utilize our ViaSat-3 capacity for some time, and we’re now on the cusp of delivering that breakthrough,” Kai Tang, Viasat's head of business aviation, said following the latest test flights. “This is a major step forward in elevating business aviation inflight connectivity, especially for super-midsized jets—one of the fastest-growing segments in our portfolio.”
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