The Honeywell Aspire 350 satellite communications system has been granted certification by Iridium.

The technology provides global, weather-resilient, high-speed connectivity for business aviation aircraft, airliners and helicopters.

The certification permits Honeywell to access to transmit and receive the Iridium Certus service over the Iridium network.

Iridium Certus is an advanced, multiservice platform enabled by the Iridium satellite constellation with download speeds up to 704 Kbps.

To achieve the certification, Honeywell successfully carried out 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.

Mark Goodman, senior director, product management, Honeywell Aerospace, said: “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.”

Bryan Hartin, executive vice president of Iridium, added: “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.

“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.”

Honeywell claims 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.