A Lockheed Martin-TRW team has been awarded a $27 billion US Air Force contract to start the system development and demonstration phase of the Advanced Extremely High Frequency military satellite communications system, which will replace Milstar 2.
Over half of the work (55%) goes to payload integrator TRW, while Lockheed Martin receives the remainder as the bus prime contractor. Originally, the team also included Boeing Space and Communications but with its share of the programme shrinking, the company backed out. It had been lined up to build satellite antennas and datalinks.
The system will eventually consist of four cross-linked satellites in geostationary orbit. They will provide a global, secure, survivable communications system able to handle real-time video, battlefield maps, targeting data and other tactical communications by 2011. The initial contract covers the build and launch of two satellites with the first launch in 2006.
Meanwhile, Lockheed Martin has shipped a Milstar 2 satellite to Cape Canaveral for a January launch. The last Milstar launch will be November 2002.
Source: Flight International
