Mission Microwave Announces Follow-On To SATCOM Terminal Upgrade Orders

Mission Microwave teamed with an industry leading system integrator to win a significant terminal upgrade program replacing Traveling Wave Tube Amplifiers with High Performance, Lightweight, Solid State Power Amplifiers in Ku- and Ka-band

Mission Microwave Technologies, LLC, a manufacturer of highly efficient Solid State Power Amplifiers (SSPAs) has confirmed an eight million dollar order for the continuation of a major upgrade program for a customer supporting a US Government requirement.

Mission Microwave engineers worked with their customer to create an upgrade path for the US Government to replace legacy traveling wave tube amplifiers (TWTA) based Block Upconverters (BUCs) with state-of-the-art Solid State BUCs, based on Gallium Nitride (GaN) technology, to upgrade a fleet of widely deployed transportable terminals. The initial upgrades started in late 2019 and prior to this recent award over one hundred sets of Ku- and Ka-band BUCs have been delivered to Mission Microwave’s customer on the program.

Mission Microwave is providing 200 Watt Ka-Band and 400 Watt Ku-band BUCs to replace legacy TWTA based Upconverters. Mission Microwave’s industry leading competency in designing compact and highly efficient amplifiers has enabled their customer to offer an upgrade path that will extend the life and improve the utility of this tactical SATCOM terminal fleet.

“The end-users of our products rely on SATCOM system providers to bring the benefits of Solid State designs to the tactical edge. We worked with our customers’ engineering team to navigate the complexities of the upgrade and certification process for these terminals. We expect the established trend of replacing high power TWTA’s with SSPA’s to be a significant market for the foreseeable future, led by our recent additions of 400 watt Ka-band and 800 watt X-band BUCs to our product line.” said Steve Richeson, Vice President of Sales & Marketing for Mission Microwave

About Mission Microwave
Mission Microwave Technologies continues to be at the forefront of the satellite terminal industry in shipping high power X-, Ku- and Ka-band BUCs from 8 to 800 watts for critical applications in ground, maritime and aerospace applications. Mission’s customers support government and commercial industry sectors that require high efficiency, reliability and performance. Mission brings revolutionary design for RF (Radio Frequency) and microwave electronics, using the latest in semiconductor technology. Mission’s focus is to minimize the size, weight, and power (SWaP) for these critical applications while providing its customers with the best possible reliability.