Lockheed Martin is leading a consortium, which includes British Telecom Defence and British Aerospace Defence Systems, to bid for the contract to build the UK's Skynet 5 military communications satellite system. TRW would provide communications payloads, as major subcontractor. The US company, offering a system based on its A2100 spacecraft (pictured), is in a straight fight with a group led by Matra Marconi Space. The two teams will propose two options involving a system owned and operated by the UK Ministry of Defence, or a privatised network selling its services to the MoD and providing communications services to commercial customers. The first of up to four Skynet 5 satellites will be launched in 2005.
Source: Flight International