GATR Technologies announced that it has been awarded a 5 year indefinite delivery indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract by the U.S. Army Project Manager, Warfighter Information Network-Tactical (PM WIN-T), Product Manager Satellite Communications (PdM SATCOM), Commercial SATCOM Terminal Program (CSTP) Office. This contract ceiling value of $440,045,436 will enable the United States Army, the United States Marine Corps, and other Commands and Services to procure GATR’s WGS certified Inflatable Satellite Antennas (ISA) and associated hardware, services and support. GATR president Paul Gierow remarked, “This contract validates the sustained adoption of GATR’s technology by the Warfighter and signifies our evolution as provider of integrated solutions.”
The key innovation of GATR’s antenna is a flexible parabolic dish mounted within an inflatable sphere, reducing weight and packaged volume by as much as 80 percent and thereby improving the agility of deployed military and disaster response personnel. The GATR ISA also costs less to procure than conventional deployable systems, and dramatically cuts transportation expenses due to its lightweight design. Finally, the larger dish size enables more efficient use of satellite bandwidth capacity, increasing bandwidth for users and allowing more users to communicate simultaneously. U.S. and Allied militaries have fielded over 300 GATR ISA terminals since 2008, proving the technology’s strength and reliability.
Gierow noted, “We were extremely fortunate to leverage early Small Business Innovative Research contracts and Quick Reaction Funding from the Department of Defense to help us initially field and improve our technology. This contract allows conventional forces to take advantage of the same cost savings and lighter profile already benefitting the Special Operations community, Marine Corps Expeditionary Units, and other early adopters.”