The Rapcon-X ISR aircraft. Photo: SNC

A ThinKom ThinAir antenna was the primary communications technology onboard the Rapcon-X aircraft’s recent inaugural flight. 

Rapcon-X is an aerial intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (A-ISR) solution by Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) that uses a Bombardier Global 6500 jet for its base configuration. In November, Sierra Nevada announced the aircraft’s first successful flight from Hagerstown, Maryland. 

ThinKom announced Dec. 17 that its ThinAir GT 2517 phased-array satcom antenna system delivered beyond-line-of-sight (BLOS) network connectivity during the test. The phased-array antenna can roam between networks in Geostationary (GEO) and Non-Geostationary (NGSO) orbit. 

“As the primary communications pipeline deployed on SNC’s Rapcon-X aircraft, ThinKom’s GT 2517 reliably and securely supports assured mission success whenever and wherever needed,” said Bill Milroy, Chairman and CTO of ThinKom. “The open-architecture platform provides robust and resilient command, control, and communications capabilities.”

The Rapcon-X aircraft has been selected for the U.S. Army’s Theater Level High Altitude Expeditionary Next Airborne ISR (ATHENA) project. The aircraft is designed to be rapidly configurable and it can be adapted for specific reconnaissance missions by switching out the onboard equipment. In its baseline configuration, the aircraft can collect and process signals intelligence, electro-optical reconnaissance and ground moving-target signatures.