Testing meant to show that a new nuclear command and control terminal can communicate with the military’s most highly secure satellites was recently completed by the U.S. Air Force and Boeing Defense, Space & Security, according to a Dec. 2 press release from the St. Louis-based company.
Boeing is the prime contractor for the Air Force’s Family of Advanced Beyond-line-of-sight Terminals (FAB-T) that are planned to replace the existing generation of air- and land-based satellite communications terminals. During the test, the FAB-T Nuclear Command and Control Network Communications System variant successfully communicated with the payload that will fly on the service’s second Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) secure communications satellite.
The Nuclear Command and Control Network Communications System terminals are planned for deployment on B-2, B-52H and RC-135 aircraft, and also will replace existing command post terminals, the press release said. An engineering model of the terminal last year demonstrated the ability to communicate with the legacy Milstar communications satellites that the AEHF constellation will replace, the press release said.
