Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) delivered the payload module for the third Advanced Extremely High Frequency (EHF) military communications satellite on February 27, marking three consecutive early deliveries by the company for the sophisticated flight hardware and software.

The third communications payload module arrived 22 days ahead of schedule at the Sunnyvale, California, facilities of Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT), prime contractor for the Advanced EHF program. Northrop Grumman also delivered payload modules for the first and second Advanced EHF satellites ahead of schedule in 2007 and 2008, respectively. Lockheed Martin will now begin mating the payload module with its A2100 satellite bus and other space vehicle components, followed by environmental and acceptance testing of the fully integrated space vehicle. The payload module consists of the complete set of processing, routing and control hardware and software that perform the satellite's communications function, including critical features to protect the communications against interception or jamming threats. Lockheed Martin currently is under contract to provide three Advanced EHF satellites and the Mission Control System to its customer, the Military Satellite Communications Systems Wing, located at the Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, California. The program is in the process of adding a fourth spacecraft to the planned constellation.