Leadership Spotlight: Logen Thiran, President and CEO of Antenna Research Associates

Logen Thiran, President and CEO of Antenna Research Associates, recently spoke with ExecutiveBiz for the last publication Spotlight on the executive interview.

“At the end of the day, the company doesn’t just sell products. Our goals are to help our customers solve their problems, which we can diagnose and resolve clearly from our history as an engineering company. We’re set to release solutions in the coming months, created from an out-of-the-box approach. “

You can read the full Executive Spotlight with Logen Thiran below:

Executive : What can you tell us about the most important growth areas and market opportunities for Antenna Research Associates as the company strives to move up the value chain and find new solutions for your customers in emerging markets? areas such as electronic warfare and intelligence surveillance?

“First, I will point out that Antenna Research Associates (ARA) verticals are military communications, electronic warfare, SATCOM and radar capabilities. These are all key areas where ARA is advancing in our market value chain, and we look forward to building on that momentum.

ARA has been in this business for almost 60 years. We have a large customer base, we have created our own intellectual property and we have built our experience around RF communication antennas. Our goal has been to build on a wide range of branches, while focusing on building a solid intellectual property library and customer base, increasing the value chain and strengthening our position. in the market as an RF communication solutions company.

In addition to satellite communications and radar market, we also focus on SIGINT and electronic warfare as key growth areas. The ARA approach to creating this set of capabilities includes the cross-pollination of technologies and capabilities that create opportunities in multiple markets through the C5ISR.

From a market growth perspective, we are also excited to approach the family of systems. It’s of course about moving our antenna capabilities up the value chain, but more importantly, delivering and creating a collection of subsystems to empower our customers. ARA strives to be our clients’ preferred partner in helping them solve difficult problems.

Likewise, the electronically piloted active network (AESA) and alternative position synchronization and navigation (APNT) technology areas are all core technology areas in our market. Customers are always on the lookout for the defense electronics market that can receive and process more data and help solve difficult problems that cannot be solved with current technologies.

Many of these innovative companies seek to push the boundaries of technology and physics to meet customer challenges. ARA is at the forefront for this. We recognize the needs of the market and solve the problems of our customers.

For decades, ARA was an engineering and manufacturing company. Over the past seven years, in transforming the business, ARA has also turned to programs.

At the end of the day, the business doesn’t just sell products. Our goals are to help our customers solve their problems, which we can diagnose and resolve clearly from our history as an engineering company. We’re set to release solutions in the coming months, created from an out-of-the-box approach. “

Executive : With the recent news regarding the acquisition of AQYR and the award of contracts to support broadband services for our military branches, how would you describe ARA’s work to advance communication antennas in the SATCOM market and to control the electromagnetic spectrum?

“We are excited about the acquisition of AQYR as it has transformed ARA, particularly in the SATCOM market, from a supplier of power and antenna subsystems to a supplier of a complete subsystem. of communication terminals. AQYR produces a small VSAT terminal with automatic acquisition in an airlift configuration for use on the GBS network.

Our customers download video data from state-of-the-art sensors for better situational awareness. Our ultimate goal is to leverage this capability to develop unique Satcom subsystems and solutions for a wider customer base, both nationally and internationally. We continue to actively seek other acquisition targets that align with our strategic plan to continue the transformation and growth of ARA.

To advance our contributions to the SATCOM market as a business, we have developed and recently launched a new product called Saterra. This is a very small aperture terminal, and it has the unique ability to allow customers to mix and match different bands with reflectors of multiple sizes that have the potential to meet the demands of the commercial and military markets. . Saterra caters to the Ka, X and Ku bands in opening sizes of 60cm, 80cm, 1.0m, 1.3m and further extends to the mid-size class.

Executive : With the SATCOM industry expected to grow significantly as MEO and LEO offerings increase while GEO and C-Band technology is in decline, what do you think of the impact that RF spectrum emissions and emerging technologies such as AI and the Internet of Things will have the market advance?

“Obviously everyone is faced with this problem. The SATCOM communications spectrum market is becoming crowded. The need for better solutions and faster data continues to increase in the communications market for military and commercial applications.

It is a fact that we need more tapes and higher link speed and data everywhere. One way to meet and meet these needs is to make key efforts to balance loads and increase efficiency across the Satcom communications ecosystem.

Here’s an example: RF antennas and front-end technologies push back the laws of physics to deliver better performance, while using AI for faster and better decision-making that further reduces system-level overhead and increases the effectiveness of decision-making. Another example would be the speed of components such as processors or processes that are part of various electronic defense systems that continue to shift the efficiency curve.

The need to improve and offer better performance will always be present. The need to be faster forces every part of the system to become more efficient. This is why artificial intelligence is so important. This is why processors and antennas are important. They allow us to be more efficient and to produce faster and better quality products,

When it comes to the Internet of Things (IOT) which also comes into play, all of these smart devices coming onto the market are only going to lead us to greater capabilities. Ultimately, we’ll need to find the best way to use all of these distributed computing resources across this ecosystem and to optimally distribute the processing load in an efficient manner. ARA is excited about the growth and plans to be at the forefront in all key areas of this IOT market that are going to be critical to our future.

Executive : How will ARA continue to differentiate itself in the aerospace and defense markets as your clients’ missions continue to be challenged by the speed of innovation and meet the national security challenges of our? countries around the world?

“Agility and speed are one of the fundamental characteristics of the ARA. This identity is something we never want to lose; customers come to us when they need solutions immediately.

The main reason they ask us for help is our ability to resolve issues quickly. Other times, customers come to ARA to help resolve a problem that other vendors have not been able to meet their needs.

We continue to do this agile problem solving time and time again, and our agility and agility to understand the whole problem and deliver the capabilities to the customer is a key differentiator for ARA. This is how we invest in our customers. We are committed to providing quality products that meet or exceed the expectations and demands of our customers.

We value commitment to the end, through the successes and challenges that we go through. I’ve gotten a lot of calls from big clients saying they never question our commitment, and I think that’s a big reason our clients come to us when they need help.

Finally, we are able to be very innovative thanks to the investment of the people with whom we work. At the end of the day, our business is people. Customers are people and so are our partners. We value our teamwork internally to deliver value in the fastest and most innovative way possible, and we value our partners to ensure that the quality of service we provide to our customers is of great importance. . We work around the clock to ensure we deliver the best in the industry. ”