Technology Report

September 1, 2026

SOLION-100

HAMBURG — For decades, a ship that needed a satellite distress radio had one official path. In 2020 Iridium opened a second. On September 1, 2026, Furuno Electric and Iridium Communications announced the SOLION-100, a single terminal that uses that second path and also handles ship security and long-range tracking.

GMDSS is the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System, the international radio safety net for ships. Under the Safety of Life at Sea Convention, cargo ships of 300 gross tons and up, and passenger ships, have to carry it. It is how a crew sends a distress alert, gets weather and navigation warnings, and talks to a rescue center.

What is new is the box. Furuno put Iridium GMDSS, the Ship Security Alert System, and Long-Range Identification and Tracking on one Certus 100 terminal. SSAS is the silent alarm a crew can send if the ship is under attack. LRIT is the position report governments use to know where a ship is. Those jobs used to mean extra hardware.

Iridium, of McLean, Virginia, flies a low-Earth-orbit constellation. Furuno, based in Nishinomiya, Japan, builds marine electronics. Iridium GMDSS entered service in 2020 after the International Maritime Organization recognized it. The companies call that the first new satellite GMDSS service since the system was set up. Because the satellites move over the poles, Iridium says the coverage includes waters that geostationary satellites miss.

The companies say the terminal is meant to carry a crew through a safety event. Iridium SafetyCast carries navigational and meteorological warnings. A single-button distress alert sends the ship’s identification, status, and position. Safety Voice is meant to let the crew speak with a rescue coordination center.

“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,” said Kiyoshi Furuno, head of the Marine Electronic Products Division.

Wouter Deknopper, Iridium’s vice president and general manager for maritime, said, “Together, we are giving shipowners and shipyards another way to equip vessels with reliable maritime safety communications, including in the polar regions.”

The companies said the terminal is for new ships and for retrofits. They expect retrofit units in late 2026 and newbuild units in 2027. Those dates are a schedule, not a shipping confirmation.

Iridium is exhibiting this week at SMM in Hamburg, September 1–4. The release lists booth Hall B6 Stand 313.