Furuno Unveils New SOLION-100 Terminal for Iridium GMDSS

The SOLION-100 combines GMDSS, Ship Security Alert System and Long-Range Identification and Tracking capabilities in a single Iridium Certus 100 terminal for newbuild and retrofit vessels.

HAMBURG, Germany, Sept. 1, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Iridium Communications Inc. (Nasdaq: IRDM), a leading provider of global voice, data, aircraft surveillance, and positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) satellite services, and Furuno Electric Co., Ltd. today announced Furuno will offer its new SOLION-100 terminal for Iridium GMDSS. This new Furuno maritime safety terminal is built on Iridium^® Certus 100 technology and integrates GMDSS, Ship Security Alert System (SSAS) and Long-Range Identification and Tracking (LRIT) capabilities in a single platform.

Iridium GMDSS entered service in 2020 following recognition by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), becoming the first new provider of satellite GMDSS services since the system was established. It delivers regulated maritime distress and safety communications through Iridium's low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite network, with global coverage, including the polar regions.

Furuno's addition of Iridium GMDSS to its portfolio gives shipowners and shipyards greater choice in selecting maritime safety equipment for newbuild and retrofit vessels.

"Furuno has been committed to supporting safer navigation at sea for decades, and maritime safety remains at the heart of what we do," said Kiyoshi Furuno, Head of Marine Electronic Products Division and Sales Management Department General Manager, Furuno. "The new SOLION-100 terminal for Iridium GMDSS allows us to strengthen our safety communications portfolio and provide customers with LEO satellite GMDSS technology alongside the Furuno navigation and communications systems they already rely on."

"Furuno has a long history of supporting maritime safety, and its addition of Iridium GMDSS brings together that expertise with the global coverage of the Iridium network," said Wouter Deknopper, vice president and general manager, maritime, Iridium. "Together, we are giving shipowners and shipyards another way to equip vessels with reliable maritime safety communications, including in the polar regions."

Iridium GMDSS is designed to support crews throughout a maritime safety event, from receiving navigational and meteorological warnings through Iridium SafetyCast^® to initiating a distress alert and establishing Safety Voice communications with a Rescue Coordination Center. A single-button distress alert transmits the vessel's identification, status and position, while Safety Voice enables crews to communicate directly with rescue authorities to provide additional information about the situation.

The SOLION-100 is expected to be commercially available for retrofit applications in late 2026, with availability for newbuild projects expected to follow in 2027.

Iridium is exhibiting this week at SMM Hamburg. Visit booth Hall B6 Stand 313 to learn more about Iridium PNT, Iridium GMDSS, and other critical maritime safety services.

For more information about Iridium GMDSS, visit https://www.iridium.com/gmdss.

About Iridium Communications Inc.
Iridium Communications Inc. (Nasdaq: IRDM) operates the world's only truly global mobile satellite network. It serves as a platform for innovation, enabling voice, data, and messaging, positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT), and aircraft surveillance services anywhere on Earth. Through its satellite constellation and integrated capabilities like Aireon, the world's only space-based air traffic surveillance system, Iridium delivers services that support safety-focused operations across aviation, maritime, government, industrial, and consumer markets. The company is a leader in satellite Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity and is advancing direct-to-device (D2D) communications based on open standards to expand access to satellite services.

Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, Iridium innovates through an ecosystem of more than 500 technology and distribution partners, serving millions of customers worldwide. For more information visit www.iridium.com.

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Furuno Unveils New SOLION-100 Terminal for Iridium GMDSS

CHONGQING, China, Sept. 1, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- A news report from Xinhua Silk Road:

From "leading in scale" to "quality-led transformative growth", the shift currently affecting China's auto industry was brought under the spotlight during the recent 2026 Automotive New Quality Productive Force Development Forum.

Organized by China Economic Information Service and China Certification & Inspection Group, the event, held in Jiulongpo District of Chongqing, attracted a cohort of business representatives from the auto manufacturing and intelligent driving sectors.

As electric vehicle output and intelligent driving burgeon domestically, transformative growth instead of economy of scale remains a critical issue particularly for Chongqing, a leading auto- and motorcycle-producing city on its way to becoming a high-end player in the global value chain.

Regarding industry pain points such as high intelligent driving penetration yet low user trust, He Gang, vice president of Changan Automobile, stressed the significance of enhancing users' sense of safety.

Via its all-weather dark-room laboratory and world models for smart driving, the Chongqing-based company is improving driving stability under extreme conditions and enabling advance detection of hazardous obstacles to build a three-pronged safety system.

He Liyang, president of Seres, outlined a set of principles centered on safety and performance that the company has consistently upheld in its development, saying "safety is the utmost luxury worth pursuing."

To reduce homogeneous competition, Cao Li, senior vice president of Leapmotor, highlighted the importance of full-domain self-reliant research and manufacturing to navigate industry cycles.

With more than 65 percent of core parts developed and made by itself, the company, which owns 18 super factories, has built a closed-loop industrial cluster to keep quality, cost, and iteration efficiency fully under control.

In the face of industry controversies over powertrain technology routes, Wu Jian, a member of GAC Group's strategy committee, said that traditional overseas powertrain technology routes have limitations in terms of intelligent adaptation.

Powertrains with Chinese characteristics can only be developed by delving into technologies that adapt to local scenarios and integrate well with vehicle intelligent systems, noted Wu, adding that after 20 years of independent R&D, the company now boasts three powertrain technology series for range-extended, plug-in hybrid, and hybrid electric vehicles.

As for "going global", Wu Yongqiao, president of Bosch's intelligent driving and control system division in China, said the company's smart driving business is deeply involved in local innovation while aligning with overseas laws and regulations to facilitate the global expansion of Chinese auto companies.

To leverage technology for social good, Tang Guomei, deputy president of Sevnce Robotics, said the company focuses on resolving industry security dilemmas in special scenarios.

Addressing industry dilemmas such as insufficient cognitive generalization and causal reasoning in the evolution of intelligent driving systems, Yang Mu, CTO of Chongqing Afari Technology, a Chongqing-headquartered smart driving business, said the company is building a native intelligent driving base model by integrating large language models with intelligent driving models to strengthen smart vehicles' capabilities in scene understanding, logical reasoning, and risk prediction.

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Chinese auto leaders seek solutions for transformative growth at forum held in Chongqing