Cobham Satcom’s Aviator 300, a SwiftBroadband voice and data system, has been approved under an FAA supplementary type certificate (STC) for installation on the Airbus A319, A320 and A321 aircraft. The company is planning to seek the same approval from European and Chinese authorities.

The Aviator 300 allows airline operations departments to stay connected with their aircraft at all times. It can be used to relay aircraft tracking data, as well as provide Ethernet ports for connecting aircraft-interface devices and electronic flight bags. The system has sufficient bandwidth to send real-time data from aircraft health monitoring systems and handle inflight entertainment and connectivity for passenger text messaging and email.

Cobham will provide the Aviator 300 equipment directly to airlines and the required FAA parts manufacturer approval installation kits and STC rights can be purchased from Avionics Support Group. According to the Cobham, the hardware is between 50 and 150 pounds lighter than comparable systems.