SWISSto12 has acquired a number of assets from the electronically-steered antenna designer Hanwha Phasor, but not the full business, for an undisclosed sum.

Acquired in mid-August, taken over property includes Ku-band active user terminal technology, to be combined with Lausanne-based SWISSto12 products, which aim to make headway in the market for actively electronically steered antennas (AESAs).

“Bolstered by our proprietary 3D printing technology for RF structures, the acquisition of these key assets and IP will allow SWISSto12 to further enhance these satellite user terminals by delivering high-performing and cost-competitive products to a large and growing market,” said Emile de Rijk, CEO and founder of SWISSto12, in a statement. “Adding these assets to our product line is another milestone in our roadmap as we continue to provide customers with best-in-class SatCom solutions and accelerate our growth worldwide.”

The company declined DCD’s requests for comment.

Hanwha Phasor employees reportedly received a memo, dated December 10, 2024, describing “a change in Hanwha Systems and Hanwha Aerospace’s strategic direction and the revised market forecast for satellite communications,” resulting in the liquidation of Hanwha Phasor. “We are very sorry,” the memo continued.

The company has had an awkward history, forming as a result of London-based Phasor Solutions, founded in 2005, going bankrupt, and being purchased by South Korean defense specialist Hanwha Systems.

Arlington, Virginia-based Phasor Inc, Phasor Solutions’ parent, had been trying to raise the $25 million equity since 2018 to stave off collapse, but only managed to draw together around $9m. At the time, Phasor Solutions spoke of being a casualty of the brutal economics of the Coronavirus pandemic.

“Our company made a swift decision for the investment as this market has big potential for growth and this technology is of strategic importance for Hanwha Systems,” said Youn Chul Kim, CEO of Hanwha Systems, in a statement at the time. “We will broaden the existing telecommunications, sensor, [and] ICT (Information & Communication Technology) capabilities to satellite antenna technology base, so that we can level up Hanwha Systems’ corporate values and competitiveness.”

Hanwha Phasor sought to produce an antenna for the aviation market, particularly in fighter jets, but ultimately failed to produce a commercially successful product in time to shore up its finances, though its research and development has caught the eye of SWISSto12, who appeared to smell a bargain.

SWISSto12 has been actively working on steerable antenna technology with the French defense giant Thales, with a goal to supply the communications needs of growing Western defense budgets. Their messaging describes their capabilities in 3D-printed additively manufactured antennas as a decisive advantage in quality, increasing performance in gain, axial ratio, and bandwidth over scan volume, when compared to patch antennas.

A spin-out from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), Swissto12 claims its HummingSat small GEO satellite can be up to ten times cheaper than larger traditional GEO satellites. The machines measure around 1.5 cubic meters (52.9 cubic feet), loosely half the size of a small car, with 1,000kg (2,204 pounds) of launch mass and able to support 200kg (440.9 pounds) of payload capacity, supplied with 2kW of power with a predicted operational life of 15 years.