Honeywell's Aspire 350 satellite communications system has achieved Iridium network certification. The Aspire 350 communications system provides global, seamless, weather-resilient, high-speed connectivity for business aviation aircraft, airliners and helicopters anywhere in the world.

Iridium network certification grants Honeywell access to transmit and receive the Iridium Certus service over the Iridium network. Iridium Certus is an advanced, multi-service platform enabled by the upgraded, truly global Iridium satellite constellation with download speeds up to 704 Kbps. To achieve this certification, Honeywell executed testing under Iridium's oversight. Honeywell has partnered with Iridium as a value-added manufacturer (VAM) of aviation terminals that operate on the Iridium network.

“Aspire 350 builds upon the success of our legacy satellite communications systems, providing both secure voice and data services for the aircraft cockpit as well as connectivity for the aircraft cabin, all at data speeds faster than our previous generation products. We have now proven the success of Aspire 350 with a supplemental type certificate on a BGA platform and are very excited to introduce the product to the market this year,” says Mark Goodman, senior director, product management, Honeywell Aerospace.

“We are proud of Honeywell for reaching this milestone and being one of the first partners certified to bring Iridium Certus services to commercial aircraft,” adds Bryan Hartin, executive vice president, Iridium. “The Iridium Certus Connected Aspire 350 is a great fit for business and commercial aircraft, delivering the peace of mind provided by Iridium's truly global network.”

Simple to install, Aspire 350 provides affordable, fast, reliable connectivity at a fraction of the cost of legacy systems. Certified access to the Iridium Certus service provides operators with high-speed data and voice connectivity in a compact, lightweight package, which helps reduce weight and boosts fuel savings. Passengers and crew also benefit from high-speed data connectivity for applications like text, email, voice messaging and web browsing.

Honeywell has also developed a new suite of software-based solutions to provide advanced control and security, improve customer support and monitor the performance of passenger connectivity. Honeywell's Cabin Sentinel, available to all Honeywell customers, will also be included in Dassault Aviation's FalconConnect line for new and existing Dassault aircraft.

Cabin Sentinel's suite of complementary software solutions enhances connectivity, responsiveness of support and overall passenger experience through advanced control and security over the customer's connection. The suite allows users to extend the monitoring of their aircraft beyond just the ground, to monitor the entire network and receive vulnerability alerts.

Features include:

- Enhanced control to reduce the cost of data. Cabin Sentinel provides the ability to control and monitor the data consumed on the aircraft, including content blocking and media prioritisation, to improve customer experience and help lower the monthly cost of the data. Utilising this software also allows operators to review each flight minute by minute to correlate passenger feedback with performance of the hardware and network while also detailing how the data is being consumed and how to optimise their control settings.

- Targeted performance notifications. Cabin Sentinel extends beyond traditional notifications to allows customers to receive in-depth status updates on their aircraft's connectivity performance without having to log into a dashboard. These enhanced notifications allow customers to proactively set data warning limits, know when an aircraft is going into or out of coverage and even provide a post-flight connectivity report directly to operators.

- Improved customer support communication. Customers using Cabin Sentinel can receive account and aircraft notifications and interact with Honeywell support through Microsoft Teams, providing easier, timely methods to receive Honeywell communications and interact with Honeywell customer support.

- Increased security features, including on-wing intrusion detection through Honeywell's GoDirect Router. Identifying intrusions on the ground monitors the data only after it is sent over the network. Extending the monitoring to the aircraft will effectively monitor and alert suspicious activities up to 50% earlier, improving overall network security.

“Honeywell has led the industry in producing line fit satcom systems and has intimate knowledge of the systems and the network. With Cabin Sentinel we have used advanced technology to develop software that encapsulates that wealth of knowledge. This creates a significantly improved passenger experience, superior customer support and enhanced customer awareness all while improving network vulnerability management,” said Adam Sheppard, director of aircraft connectivity, Honeywell Aerospace.

Honeywell's new Cabin Sentinel will launch with Dassault Aviation, which has signed an agreement to include the solution for new and existing FalconConnect customers. Powered by Honeywell, FalconConnect is an all-in-one suite of services and applications that enables operators to deliver the best-available connected experience to their passengers, flight crews and ground crews.

Cabin Sentinel is available now for all aircraft.