Yahsat enters into two strategic partnerships to deploy defence vehicular systems

Al Yah Satellite Communications Company (Yahsat), the UAE’s flagship satellite services operator has announced that its dedicated government arm, Yahsat Government Solutions, has signed two Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) – one with NIMR, the manufacturer of combat-proven wheeled military vehicles and the other with L3Harris Technologies, the global aerospace and defence technology innovator – during the International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX 2021) in Abu Dhabi.

With this announcement, Yahsat has further cemented its leadership as a provider of satellite-enabled Comms-On-The-Move (COTM) solutions for ground defence vehicular mounted systems.

The two separate MoUs with NIMR and L3Harris pave the way for Yahsat and its technology partners to provide an exclusive suite of offerings for key defence and civil government customers, backed by round-the-clock maintenance and support. Yahsat’s ready-to-deploy solutions unlock countless opportunities for defence users, supporting a wide array of land-based applications, ranging from Command, Control, Communications, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance to Border Control and Beyond Line of Sight (BLoS) operations.

Yahsat’s COTM solutions also enable vehicle asset tracking and situational awareness, closed voice and data networks, tactical radio range extensions over satellite IP as well as secure streaming of full-motion video and related information from vehicles to generate real-time video footage for multiple applications.

Yahsat aims to provide customised, integrated and interoperable connectivity for civil defence and military clients, through its partnerships with NIMR and L3Harris.

By pre-qualifying its COTM solutions to work efficiently on NIMR’s armoured personnel carriers including (APC) JAIS 6×6 and L3Harris’ vehicular mounted combat systems, Yahsat has developed a strong business model and value proposition. This reduces integration and timeline risks, ensures platforms’ structural and design integrity, warrants on-board combat systems and sensor compatibility, and more importantly, optimizes system integration costs.

The combined expertise of L3Harris and Yahsat in melding COTM, BLoS and other combat systems on vehicular platforms opens the door to a range of add-ons, creating massive value for customers, while ensuring superior all-terrain performance, reliability and security.

Commenting on the partnership, Eisa Al Shamsi, Deputy General Manager of Yahsat Government Solutions said: “Through our collaboration with leading industry partners, we are reaffirming our commitment to government customers struggling to gain access to line-fit COTM satellite solutions, combat systems and sensors, which are pre-qualified and ready for deployment on vehicular systems. Today, end-users have to approach and manage different system providers and platform integrators to equip, operate and maintain complex vehicular platforms, navigating an arduous procurement and risky integration journey. By partnering with trusted names such as NIMR and L3Harris Technologies, Yahsat has simplified and enriched the process, delivering greater value to the end-user.”

Abraham Du Plessis, Chief Executive Officer of NIMR, stated: “At NIMR, we are keen to incorporate the latest technologies in our offerings to guarantee superior protection and mobility. Our collaboration with Yahsat presents us with an ideal opportunity to achieve this objective and we look forward to working with Yahsat and leveraging its expertise to enhance the versatility of our platforms.”

Greg Zoughbi, Director of UAE Business Development, L3Harris said: “As a leading C5ISR systems integrator and provider of state-of-the-art combat systems, we value our partnership with the UAE’s global satellite services operator. Our MoU with Yahsat represents a major milestone in L3Harris’ longstanding association with the company and reflects our ongoing commitment to the UAE and its Armed Forces.”