The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] has delivered the first Family of Advanced Beyond line-of-sight Terminals (FAB-T) Engineering Development Model (EDM) to the U.S. Air Force B-2 Program — Boeing and the Air Force will use the EDM to initiate platform integration and test activities.

Over the next few months, additional EDM units will be delivered to undergo integration and flight testing on a Boeing 707 test aircraft operated by the U.S. Air Force and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Lincoln Labs, and on an operational RC-135 aircraft at Majors Field in Greenville, Texas. A transformational communications program led by the Air Force, the FAB-T system will provide a multi-mission-capable family of satellite communication terminals to strategic command and control forces. The airborne and ground-based terminals will communicate with multiple satellites and enable information to be exchanged between ground, air and space platforms. The system includes software-defined radios, antennas, and user interfaces that will enable the user to host numerous waveforms that accommodate data rates in excess of the current SATCOM capability. FAB-T systems are compatible with the existing MILSTAR Extremely High Frequency and the Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) communications satellite constellations, providing a seamless transition as the AEHF constellation replaces MILSTAR.