For decades, airborne law enforcement video downlinking has often depended on dedicated microwave infrastructure, strategically placed receivers, and a clear path between the aircraft and ground station. WorldCast Group’s SureStreamer Heli takes a different approach, using multiple cellular networks simultaneously to deliver live video from the aircraft to command personnel on the ground.
Displayed at APSCON 2026 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the package combines onboard encoding and transmission hardware, a distinctive three-element external antenna, and WorldCast Group’s proprietary SureStream technology. Together, they provide an air-to-ground downlink solution with latency of less than half a second.
“Basically, we take the video, put it through the SureStream algorithm, packetize it and then replicate the data,” WorldCast broadcast engineer Joe Schmauch told Vertical Valor Plus.
Each section of the tri-antenna is dedicated to a separate cellular provider: AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon. The system sends replicated copies of the same video data through all three networks, increasing the likelihood that at least one complete packet reaches the ground receiver when coverage fluctuates.
“We have to use a send-and-forget protocol to get the delay so low,” Schmauch said. “If you lose data, which you will because you’re in the air and sending across cellular, you need to replicate the data so you have at least one good packet received on the ground.”
Each antenna also operates across multiple frequency bands, covering a broad portion of the cellular spectrum and specialized public safety services including FirstNet, T-Priority, and Verizon Frontline. Individual bands can be enabled or disabled depending on an agency’s requirements.
The airborne unit accepts standard SDI video from commonly used electro-optical systems, mapping computers, and auxiliary cameras. That allows agencies to downlink imagery from equipment produced by manufacturers including Teledyne FLIR, L3Harris Wescam, and SHOTOVER, as well as smaller cameras positioned near a rescue hoist, water bucket, or other mission equipment. “Anything with an SDI output, we can take,” Schmauch said. “We can take the mapping as an overlay as well.”
On the ground, agencies use a software receiver running on a Linux server in a real-time crime center, operations center, or other facility. The resulting feed can then be passed into the agency’s existing video-management platform, allowing commanders and support personnel to view live airborne imagery without a dedicated mobile receiver positioned on the ground beneath the helicopter.
WorldCast Group has also added a Starlink input, permitting agencies to blend satellite connectivity with cellular service. Schmauch said the option is particularly useful for aircraft operating above approximately 7,000 feet or during hurricanes and other disasters that disrupt terrestrial networks.
“It will work as a blended system with cellular and Starlink,” he said. “Anyone who lives in a disaster-prone area can plug in Starlink when the cell network is wiped out. That’s the power of the algorithm. It gives us the reliability, video stability, quality, and latency that are important for these missions.”
At the time of APSCON, Schmauch said approximately 35 SureStreamer Heli systems were installed or being installed across 18 agencies. The equipment is available in different enclosure configurations to accommodate aircraft including the MD 500, Bell platforms, Airbus H125, and fixed-wing aircraft.
