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Lockheed Martin Receives $3.3B For U.S. Air Force Satellites

This article is more than 4 years old.

Lockheed Martin has a new $3.3 billion contract to protect the White House, State Department and military users from jammed communications, even in the case of nuclear attack.

The Maryland-based company received a 10-year contract for operations and support for three kinds of satellite constellations — one that is used by the U.S. and its allies (Advanced Extremely High Frequency) and the other two by the U.S. alone (Milstar, and Defense Satellite Communications System).

These satellites are all meant to keep the business of government functioning no matter what circumstances may arise on the ground. Lockheed Martin has been the prime contractor for these programs since 2009, and the U.S. Air Force chose not to compete the contract.

The new contract not only builds on Lockheed's previous work, but has "the additional emphasis on resiliency, recognizing the warfighting domain that space has become," said Jason Boitnott, Lockheed's director of operations, sustainment and logistics for military space. "Lockheed Martin is committed to methodically enhancing the capabilities of these fielded systems to mitigate emerging threats and fulfill future enterprise needs," Boitnott added.

Most of the AEHF satellites are already in space, with the first one launching in 2010, and the fifth one going into orbit earlier this year. The last and final satellite, AEHF-6, should launch in 2020.

The system is also useful for military communications that protect these government operations, as AEHF “provides vastly improved global, survivable, protected communications capabilities for strategic command and tactical warfighters operating on ground, sea and air platforms,” Lockheed Martin said in a statement.

While DSCS and Milstar are both older constellations, many of the satellites remain operational even though the last ones launched in 2003. Communications satellites generally operate in a stable orbit that allows for limited fuel use, which extends the life of older satellites. Military satellites are also built to a high degree of reliability so that they can often last a decade or longer in space.

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