What AQYR does

AQYR is a tactical SATCOM terminal brand and wholly-owned subsidiary of Antenna Research Associates, Inc. (ARA), a privately held U.S. defense electronics company headquartered in Laurel, Maryland. Founded in 1963, ARA designs, manufactures, tests, and installs C5ISR technologies spanning antenna systems, electronic warfare, RADAR, and SATCOM solutions. The company serves the national security and defense community, including military agencies requiring situational awareness, threat detection, communications, electronic warfare, surveillance, spectrum management, TEMPEST testing, UAV support, weather radar, perimeter monitoring, RF jamming, and RF simulation. AQYR specifically contributes SATCOM terminal development and support from ARA's 14,000 square foot engineering facility in Nashua, New Hampshire, with the broader portfolio covering Direction Finding, ELINT, ISR Arrays, multiband antennas, AESA systems, tactical VSAT terminals, and GPS antennas across air, land, and sea domains.

ARA has executed a roll-up strategy through three acquisitions: Seavey Engineering in 2003 (UAV, weather radar, RF jamming, RF simulation), AQYR in 2020 (tactical SATCOM), and SI2 Technologies in 2022. The company operates four U.S. facilities totaling approximately 149,000 square feet—a corporate headquarters and 80,000 sq ft manufacturing/engineering site in Laurel, MD; a 30,000 sq ft manufacturing facility in Pembroke, MA; the 14,000 sq ft AQYR SATCOM engineering site in Nashua, NH; and a 25,000 sq ft Technology and Innovation Center in Billerica, MA. Since institutional investors took ownership and appointed Logen Thiran as CEO in 2014, ARA has nearly doubled in size and revenue.

The business model is direct-to-government defense contracting via federal procurement processes, with quote-based pricing on classified and unclassified programs. Pricing is not publicly disclosed. Geographic focus is U.S., though distribution channels claim a global buyer scope. Recent executive additions—Adil Karim as CTO (Nov 2025), Frank Morgan as COO (Feb 2026), and Jay Abendroth as CGO (Apr 2026)—plus a live AESA Terminal demonstration at the AFCEA North Carolina Innovation Summit (Mar 2026) signal an active scaling phase supporting expanded defense mission requirements.

Name

AQYR

Legal name

ANTENNA RESEARCH ASSOCIATES, INC.

Website

https://aqyrtech.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1963

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

AQYR, a wholly-owned brand of Antenna Research Associates (ARA), provides tactical SATCOM terminals and engineering support to the U.S. military and defense community from its Nashua, NH facility, operating as part of ARA's broader C5ISR portfolio of antennas, electronic warfare, RADAR, and SATCOM systems.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Military SATCOM Terminals

NAICS

Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing (334511), Radio and Television Broadcasting and Wireless Communications Equipment Manufacturing (334220), Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing (33641)

SIC

Search, Detection, Navagation, Guidance, Aeronautical Sys (3812), Guided Missiles & Space Vehicles & Parts (3760)

akta.pro primary industry

Defense Communications (Secure Radios, SATCOM Terminals, Crypto) (IMABAGAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Radar Systems & Subsystems (Airborne, Ground, Naval) (IMABAGAA), Ground Segment Systems (Ground Stations, TT&C, Mission Ops) (IMABACAJ), Surveillance & Identification Avionics (ADS-B/Transponders/TCAS) (IMABAFAM)

Keywords

• Tactical SATCOM terminals
• Military communications
• Antenna systems
• Defense electronics
• Satellite ground terminals

Headquarters

HQ city

Hollis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Distribution channels1 record

Core offering

AQYR designs, develops, and supports tactical SATCOM terminal systems for land-based military and defense applications. As a wholly-owned subsidiary brand of ARA (Antenna Research Associates) since 2020, AQYR anchors the SATCOM portion of ARA's broader C5ISR portfolio, serving military and defense agencies, public sector customers, foreign governments, and commercial buyers with portable and deployable satellite communications terminals. The Nashua, NH facility is dedicated to SATCOM terminal development and support.

Product overview

AQYR was acquired by ARA (Antenna Research Associates) in 2020 as part of ARA's strategy to expand its SATCOM capabilities. ARA operates as a C5ISR company offering a comprehensive portfolio of defense electronics products spanning Electronic Warfare, MILCOM, RADAR, and SATCOM applications. AQYR's SATCOM terminal development operations are based in Nashua, NH (14,000 square feet facility). ARA's products include Direction Finding systems, Electronic Attack/SIGINT/Spectrum solutions, ELINT, ISR Arrays, multiband antennas, AESA systems, tactical VSAT terminals, GPS antennas, and weather radar systems. The company serves defense and national security customers requiring situational awareness, threat detection, and communications capabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• AQYR Tactical SATCOM Land Terminals Land-based tactical satellite communications terminals designed for military and defense operations. AQYR provides deployable, portable SATCOM terminal systems that support mission-critical situational awareness, threat detection, and secure communications for defense, public sector, foreign government, and commercial customers. The product line is developed and supported at AQYR's Nashua, NH facility.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• ARA (Antenna Research Associates)coreOthers · 1 January 2020AQYR was acquired by ARA in 2020 as part of ARA's strategy to expand capabilities and product offerings. This acquisition nearly doubled ARA's size and revenue. AQYR operates as part of ARA's integrated portfolio of C5ISR solutions.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Raytheon (RTX): RTX/Raytheon is a defense prime with SATCOM, EW, and sensor capabilities that broadly overlap ARA's and AQYR's portfolio in mission-critical defense electronics and communications.
• Thales Group: Thales supplies tactical communications, SATCOM terminals, EW, and defense electronics across Europe and globally, comparable to AQYR/ARA in mission-critical tactical SATCOM and antenna offerings.
• Honeywell Aerospace: Honeywell delivers avionics, communications, and SATCOM systems including tactical data links and antennas for defense platforms, overlapping with ARA/AQYR's MILCOM and SATCOM product lines.
• ViaSat (Viasat): ViaSat produces satellite broadband terminals and integrates satellite ground systems, making it a broader incumbent in the SATCOM terminal market that AQYR competes with across tactical and expeditionary use cases.
• BAE Systems: BAE's Electronic Systems segment supplies EW, SATCOM, and RF/antenna products to U.S. and allied militaries, making it a broader incumbent comparable to ARA's combined antenna and EW positioning.
• L3Harris Technologies: L3Harris is a large defense prime with broad portfolios in tactical communications, SATCOM terminals, EW, and integrated C5ISR systems, comparable to ARA's overall portfolio that AQYR sits within.

Direct peers

• Ultra Electronics (now part of Babcock): Ultra Electronics has supplied tactical communications, antennas, and EW subsystems to militaries globally, comparable to AQYR in tactical SATCOM terminals and antenna products for defense customers.
• Kratos Defense & Security Solutions: Kratos operates a sizable Tactical SATCOM and unmanned systems defense electronics business with overlapping antenna and RF offerings, making it one of AQYR's closest publicly-traded peers in mission-critical military communications hardware.
• Comtech Telecommunications: Comtech designs and manufactures SATCOM ground terminals and modems for defense, government, and commercial markets, making it a direct competitor to AQYR's tactical SATCOM terminals in DoD and allied procurements.

Others

• CACI International: CACI provides defense electronics, signals intelligence, and C5ISR solutions alongside services, thematically aligned to ARA's mission-critical C5ISR positioning that AQYR contributes to.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/AntennaResearchAssociates
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/antenna-research-associates
• Xx.com/aqyrtech

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about AQYR