Kratos (News - Alert), a provider of national security solutions, has announced that Asia Satellite Telecommunications Co. Ltd. has awarded its subsidiary Integral Systems (News - Alert) Europe Limited (ISE) with a contract to upgrade one of its satellite uplink facilities.

"This latest award from AsiaSat underscores the close partnership we have built together," Andrew Smith, president of ISE UK, said. "Our familiarity with the Tai Po systems combined with the broad range of ground system products and expertise that Kratos ISE offers allowed us to provide the cutting-edge solutions that will help AsiaSat remain at the forefront of service delivery to its customers.”

The C-band facility is located at the Tai Po Earth Station in Hong Kong. Factory integration is intended to start soon at ISE’s ground system facility in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. When the RF uplink system is completed later this year, AsiaSat will have increased transmission capacity and will also be able to use its transponders across its satellite fleet more flexibly.

The two companies have been working together for 20 years. About a decade ago, ISE built the Tai Po facility to support the increasing capabilities of newer satellites. The new contract updates Tai Po’s capabilities even more.

"We are very pleased to have ISE to conduct the TP2 antenna upgrade project for AsiaSat. Based on our past experience, ISE has the expertise and ability to manage the projects and meet AsiaSat's technical and schedule requirements. We are confident that ISE will continue to provide high quality professional service and increase AsiaSat's uplink services capabilities to serve our customers," said Fred Ho, director, technical operations of AsiaSat.

Kratos ISE has been in the business for 30 years, designing and building equipment for satellite control, telecommunications gateways, broadcast uplinking and VSAT hubs. Its operations include everything from RF upgrades to complete “green field” operations and installing new satellite infrastructure.