Anna Forrester
Iridium Communications‘ OpenPort broadband service will operate with Thales‘ LiveAero systems to provide Bristow Helicopters‘ Sikorsky S-92 aircraft with broadband voice and data connectivity functions to support search-and-rescue missions.
The companies said Tuesday that the combination of OpenPort and LiveAero aims to help facilitate in-flight care and triage functions such as real-time exchange of electronic patient data with on-ground medical teams.
Bristow plans to deploy this mobile satellite network on the Sikorsky helicopters as they participate in the civilian search-and-rescue operations of the U.K. maritime and coastguard agency.
“The heavy rotorcraft segment provides an addressable market of more than 10,000 aircraft worldwide,” said Brian Pemberton, executive director of Iridium’s aviation and maritime businesses.
He noted that the OpenPort-LiveAero network works to provide broadband connectivity particularly for rotorcraft such as the Sikorsky S-92.
