11 July 2018: Inmarsat was honoured to assist the Royal Air Force (RAF) Signals Support Unit (90su) with high-speed Global Xpress connectivity for the historic RAF 100 Parade at Buckingham Palace and Flypast over London to mark its centenary anniversary.

The RAF team required an uninterrupted media feed during the build-up and execution of both the parade and flypast but was concerned that the terrestrial 4G network would struggle, given the sheer volume of crowds anticipated who would all be looking to share this momentous occasion online.

Working closely with the event organisers, two Inmarsat engineers set up a Paradigm Swarm 45 terminal on the day to augment terrestrial capability and ensure seamless, reliable communications throughout the day.

Outstanding service

Crowds lined up along the streets of London were treated to a unique military spectacle of 100 aircraft from the past 100 years flying over the skies of London, with a line-up that included Spitfires, Lancasters and Hurricanes as well as its newest and fastest aircraft – Lightnings and Typhoon FGR4s.

Following the event, Squadron Leader Gordon Henderson said: “Thanks to Inmarsat for the great support at the RAF 100 year anniversary today – an outstanding level of service from the lightweight and easily operated Swarm terminal.

“By providing the Air Command Media team with access to its Global Xpress connectivity, they were able to continue uploading videos from the parade even as the 4G network in London begun to struggle.“

The parade and flypast forms part of a number of special events taking place from April to November 2018 to mark the RAF’s 100th birthday. Later this year, Inmarsat will also provide satellite communication support for the RAF 100 Himalayan Venture 18, which will unite the RAF’s past, present and future for its largest ever mountaineering expedition to the Himalayas.