Iridium Communications Inc. announced the launch of Operation Arctic Lynx (OAL) on Thursday. The Operation is a series of partnership-driven field exercises deploying Iridium and Iridium-connected technologies that involve over 20 organizations, primarily focused above 60 degrees north latitude and stretching as far as 82 degrees north latitude.
During the Operation, Iridium and Iridium-connected weather resilient satellite communications technology will be deployed by a mix of on-base, communications-on-the-move (COTM), at-the-halt (ATH) and remote environment applications.
"Iridium's Arctic and Antarctic communications capabilities have long been a part of the fabric of government, NGO and civil enterprise activities in those regions and now with our upgraded constellation and new technologies developed, we have turbocharged our portfolio of solutions to address an increasing range of polar communication requirements," commented Scott Scheimreif, Iridium’s EVP.
OAL will take place between June 11th and June 26th, 2021. The international contingent of organizations participating in the Operation includes existing Iridium customers such as the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. federal agencies, Alaska state and local organizations, Canadian government organizations, scientific research organizations and many aerospace industry companies.
The technologies that will be featured include weather-resilient broadband (Iridium Certus), Iridium Push-To-Talk, various unattended sensors capable of tracking, environmental monitoring, remote control functions and managing data and image delivery and beyond-visual-line-of-sight (Iridium Global Line of SightSM).
Iridium is the only commercial satellite communications company with global coverage and a 20-plus year pedigree of providing reliable Arctic communications.
"With more than 20 participating organizations, Operation Arctic Lynx will exercise the ability to provide real-time interoperability, communications-on-the-move, command-and-control and develop and maintain a common operational picture in austere polar regions. We're proud to have so many esteemed organizations participating," added Scheimreif.
