Next-Stage C4ISR Bandwidth: The AEHF Satellite Program
Raytheon’s FAB-T contract win remains on-time, but new platforms will provide new competitive opportunities.
August 13/19: Successful Launch Lockheed Martin announced that the AEHF-5 protected communication satellite is now in transfer orbit. The launch on August 8 was successful and the AEHF-5 is now responding to the US Air Force’s 4th Space Operations Squadron’s commands. According to Lockheed, the squadron began “flying” the satellite shortly after it separated from its United Launch Alliance Atlas V 551 rocket approximately 5 hours and 40 minutes after the rocket’s successful 6:13 am ET liftoff. The Advanced Extremely High Frequency 5 or AEHF-5 satellite is the fifth addition to the Air Force’s Advanced Extremely High Frequency constellation. The satellites are built by Lockheed Martin and are used to relay secure communications for the Armed Forces of the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the Netherlands. The first AEHF satellite was launched in 2006 and the most recent, the AEHF-4 in October 2018. The sixth and final AEHF satellite is expected to launch later this year.
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The USA’s new Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellites will support twice as many tactical networks as the current Milstar II satellites, while providing 10-12 times the bandwidth capacity and 6 times the data rate transfer speed. With the cancellation of the higher-capacity TSAT program, AEHF will form the secure, hardened backbone of the Pentagon’s future Military Satellite Communications (MILSATCOM) architecture, with a mission set that includes nuclear command and control. Its companion Family of Advanced Beyond-line-of-sight Terminals (FAB-T) program will give the US military more modern, higher-bandwidth receiving capabilities, and add more flexibility on the front lines. The program has international components, and partners currently include Britain, Canada, and the Netherlands.
This article offers a look at the AEHF system’s rationale and capabilities, while offering insight into some of the program’s problems, and an updated timeline covering over $5 billion worth of contracts since the program’s inception.
The AEHF Program
Program Status and Budgets
Past and Future
The AEHF Satellites
The AEHF Satellites: Contracts & Key Events
Satellites FY 2014 – 2019
FY 2019
FY 2018
FY 2015
Satellites FY 2013
Satellites FY 2012
Satellites FY 2011
Satellites FY 2010
Satellites FY 2009
Satellites FY 2008
Satellites FY 2007
Satellites FY 2004 – 2006
Satellites FY 2002 – 2003
FAB-T Terminals and Ground Control
Evolution Toward Competition
FAB-T & Ground Control: Contracts and Key Events
FY 2012 – 2014
FY 2010 – 2011
FY 2006 – 2009
FY 2002 – 2005
Additional Readings & Sources
Related Ground Systems
News & Views
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