Recently, the Russian company NEBO claimed that it had developed a new inflatable antenna system. This innovation supposedly marks a significant advance. However, it turned out that the ultra-portable antenna system NEBO has technologies previously used by the US military.
Just a Russian analog
“In fact, only the United States has such antennas now. And now we have them,” the company’s director said in an interview.
The new Russian antenna system is a sealed ball made of durable material with seams reinforced with special equipment. The entire system, including all the necessary equipment, weighs only a few tens of kilograms, making it ideal for use by mobile groups.
Antenna from GATR
This development is very similar to the inflatable antenna system created by the US company GATR Technologies, a subsidiary of Cubic Corporation. Like the Russian version, the GATR antenna system is inflatable and designed for easy deployment, providing broadband satellite communications in a compact, portable form.
The GATR system combines a patented inflatable dome with a precision antenna, allowing the entire system to fit in a backpack weighing less than 23 kg. This system, known as a Ground Antenna Transmitter and Receiver (GATR), can be airlifted to military units or transported as commercial baggage, increasing the efficiency of expeditionary missions.
“On the top of the balloon, as you can see, there is an irradiator with a receiver-transmitter. It’s all inflated with air and mounted on the ground,” comments military expert Serhiy Flesh (Beskrestnov). – Nothing complicated and nothing fantastic. Some guy from the Russian Federation repeated the solution with such a ball, and he succeeded, which was happily reported by the Russian media.”
The inflatable satellite dishes were first demonstrated to the US military in 2014 after the US Army and GATR Technologies signed a five-year contract for the supply of 36 such systems worth $440 million.
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