
Col. Michael Sarchet, commander of the Protected Satellite Communications Group at the U.S. Air Force's Space and Missile Systems Center said, "This major milestone represents completion of our single-line flow activities and moves the program another critical step closer to the full deployment of the AEHF system and delivery of unprecedented protected communication capabilities to the warfighter." The second AEHF satellite has completed all testing and will be placed in storage next month. The third AEHF satellite is progressing through thermal vacuum environmental testing at the Lockheed Martin facility in Sunnyvale, Calif.
The AEHF team is led by the U.S. Air Force Military Satellite Communications Systems Wing at the Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif. Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, Sunnyvale, Calif., is the AEHF prime contractor and system manager, with Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems, Redondo Beach, Calif., as the satellite payload provider. Lockheed Martin is currently under contract to provide three AEHF satellites and the mission control segment to the U.S. Air Force. The program has also contracted advanced procurement of long-lead components for a fourth AEHF satellite. A contract award to begin full scale production of the fourth satellite is expected in late 2010.