Blue Sky Network unveiled the new HawkEye Portable Tracker (PT) Plus fleet management tool at Heli-Expo ’13, which offers more consistent, accurate and reliable connectivity throughout a customer’s multimodal network.

“We sell not just the hardware, but also software, service and airtime,” said Paul Duran, v-p of marketing and sales. “We have customers with fleets in the Gulf, in Canada–all around the world–so we’re growing to help manage our customers’ fleets, wherever they may be and whatever types of assets they may have: air, sea, or ground.”

The new GPS-based tracking system allows the customer to track not only position of the unit but to also “gather intelligent data at the asset,” according to Duran. The system is able to monitor a variety of parameters and can message take-off landings based on the user inputting data on the tracker.

Dual-mode connectivity allows the HawkEye PT Plus to maintain a constant connection to a ground base through the Iridium satellite network in the event of loss of GSM signal. Those signals are the sent to Blue Sky Network’s new SkyRouter cloud-based tracking software, granting two-way communication and asset tracking and alerts.

Tracking data may be exported and used in Google Earth for 3-D flight analyses, with the New SkyRouter also offering the ability for data to be sent and monitored via a smartphone or other wireless device.

A new touchscreen interface improves controllability of the HawkEye PT Plus, with a dedicated, guarded quick-position button giving users the ability to notify fleet managers with an urgent message or in event of emergency. The unit may be configured through a USB or Bluetooth interface.

The HawkEye PT Plus will be available for sale in April, according to the company.