Advancing UK Aerospace, Defence, Security & Space Solutions Worldwide
  • Home
  • /
  • Aerospace
  • /
  • Inmarsat enhances inflight mobile broadband with Space Norway

Aerospace Space

Inmarsat enhances inflight mobile broadband with Space Norway

Inmarsat today announced a contract to introduce two new payloads for its Global Xpress (GX) network in partnership with Space Norway and its subsidiary Space Norway HEOSAT, supporting the continued fast-paced development of its award-winning GX Aviation and Jet ConneX inflight connectivity solutions.


Courtesy Inmarsat

The new payloads, GX10A & 10B, will provide Inmarsat’s airline and business aviation customers with even more capacity to meet rapidly growing demand for seamless, reliable, high-speed mobile inflight broadband. In addition, the satellites will be fully compatible with current and future terminals, ensuring that both existing and new customers will reap the benefits from this latest extension to the network.

Advertisement
Gulfstream RT

Scheduled to launch in 2022, GX10A & 10B will be the first satellites in the GX network to be placed into Highly Elliptical Orbit (HEO), showcasing Inmarsat’s highly innovative and flexible approach to providing customers with gold-standard connectivity. 

The satellites are designed to deliver enhanced capacity for aircraft flying in higher elevations and across the Arctic. They will be operated by Space Norway’s Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission (ABSM) team and seamlessly integrate into the GX network.

The contract announcement is another significant milestone in the continued evolution of GX and comes less than a month after Inmarsat’s decision to invest in three new transformational satellites (GX7, 8 & 9) to be built by Airbus Defence & Space. These will further increase network flexibility and efficiency through multi-beam, high-throughput capacity that can be directed to service areas of high demand, and fully dialled up and down depending on customer needs in the region.

Advertisement
DSEI 2025

Philip Balaam, President of Inmarsat Aviation, said: “Over the past 40 years, Inmarsat has pioneered the latest in cutting-edge satellite innovation, a tradition we are proud to continue with the long-term development of our GX network. In the past month alone, we have announced five significant new payloads, raising the bar for industry investment and marking an unprecedented step-change in inflight mobile broadband capabilities for airlines and business aviation. 

“We have now committed to a total of eight more payloads that will join the GX network’s four existing satellites starting from later this year. However, GX is much more than just a satellite network, it's a complete end-to-end solution and we have been equally ambitious in developing our ground stations, hardware, software and cybersecurity framework. This infrastructure, built specifically for robust and secure mobility, is unique to Inmarsat and will position us as an innovator putting our customer needs at the heart of our business decisions.”

The GX network powers Inmarsat’s award-winning GX Aviation, which boasts world-leading airline customers such as Lufthansa, Qatar Airways, Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines, AirAsia, Norwegian, Avianca, Austrian Airlines, Eurowings, Citilink, Garuda and Philippine Airlines. The network also powers Inmarsat’s highly successful Jet ConneX inflight broadband solution, which has already been installed on more than 500 business aviation aircraft across the world.

Advertisement
General Atomics LB
Manchester Airport has busiest ever June

Aerospace

Manchester Airport has busiest ever June

11 July 2025

More than three million passengers travelled through Manchester Airport last month – the first time the UK’s global gateway in the North has passed that mark in June.

Lane Electronics to showcase defence connectivity at MSPO

Aerospace Defence Events

Lane Electronics to showcase defence connectivity at MSPO

11 July 2025

Lane Electronics, a franchised distributor for many of the industry’s major electrical, electronic and optical connector manufacturers, will be Exhibiting at MSPO 2025 (2nd–5th September 2025, Kielce, Poland), where they will be displaying the latest connector innovations and demonstrating their UK based assembling and value add services.

LK Metrology acquires ProCon X-Ray

Aerospace

LK Metrology acquires ProCon X-Ray

11 July 2025

Best known as a manufacturer and global supplier of coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) and more recently laser scanning sensors, Castle Donington based LK Metrology Ltd has acquired ProCon X-Ray GmbH, a specialist German manufacturer of computed tomography (CT) systems.

Titan Airways adds first Embraer E190LR to its fleet

Aerospace

Titan Airways adds first Embraer E190LR to its fleet

11 July 2025

Stansted based European charter airline, Titan Airways, has announced that it had completed the purchase of its first Embraer E190LR regional jet.

Advertisement
ODU RT
Flitetec secures two distribution agreements

Aerospace Defence Events

Flitetec secures two distribution agreements

11 July 2025

Amersham based aerospace business Flitetec, has confirmed two major deals that it shook on at the recent Paris Air Show.

IFS appoints Kriti Sharma as CEO of Nexus Black

Aerospace Security

IFS appoints Kriti Sharma as CEO of Nexus Black

11 July 2025

IFS has appointed Kriti Sharma as CEO of IFS Nexus Black. This strategic move reinforces IFS’s commitment to industrial AI and fast-tracks the development of agentic AI systems designed for the asset- and service-intensive industries it serves.

Advertisement
DSEI 2025