DUBAI AIRSHOW 2023: Viasat, Bellwether Industries Expand Partnership “to Include Integration of Velaris Terminal and Test Flight Plans”
UK-based eVTOL start-up, Bellwether Industries, and global satellite company, Viasat, announced at this week’s Dubai Airshow, a partnership using the Velaris connectivity for the upcoming aircraft model, Oryx, reports a press release.
The release explains, “The two companies are in the middle of a two-phase test as part of Viasat’s Velaris Partner Network, with plans to include a test flight schedule at a commercial aerodrome later in the program.”
The Velaris service provides reliable and secure satellite communications for commercial Urban Air Mobility vehicles, such as Bellwether’s Oryx, to successfully integrate with aircraft in commercial airspace. The 0.6 lbs multi-link terminal installed on the vehicle “simultaneously connects to the Viasat network and LTE, enabling operators to access a wide variety of applications, such as real-time monitoring, to enable safe and secure airspace integration (including air traffic services and air traffic flow management).”
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Vidyut Jacob, Senior Director of Mobility and Strategy at Bellwether Industries, enthused, “We are taking solid steps towards the impending test phases for our Volar project. We are poised to execute a two-step process with our partner Viasat and launch phase 1 in 2024, in collaboration with CATUAV Test Centre (BCN Drone Center) in Spain.”
Joel Klooster, Senior Vice President, Flight Safety and Uncrewed Aviation, at Viasat, added, “By aligning with partners who are at the forefront of reshaping and advancing the aviation industry, Viasat seeks not only to push the boundaries of technological innovation but also to contribute significantly to the formulation of regulatory norms and connectivity prerequisites that will guide the industry’s trajectory in the foreseeable future.”
Background
Bellwether Industries is based in London and was founded in 2019. After creating ‘Volar’, the company’s core mission is to bring Urban air Mobility to people’s daily lives.
Volar is defined as a new category of private urban aircraft for intra-city travel. The company believes that people commuting in the sky is inevitable within the next 10 years and state, “A volar will be capable to take anyone to fly anytime and anywhere to any point in cities.”
For more information
https://www.bellwether-industries.com/
(Top Image: Oryx)