AEHF
Cape Canaveral preparing for key military launches
The Air Force 45th Space Wing is gearing up for three high-profile space launches at Cape Canaveral over the coming months.
Report: Updating the military’s nuclear communications systems a complex and expensive challenge
Bill LaPlante, MITRE: The NC3 system “has been studied a lot, its life has been extended as long as we could, and that’s where we are."
Op-ed | A new mission for DARPA’s RSGS robotic spacecraft: satellite bodyguard
Maxar's exit has a silver lining: DARPA can and should repurpose the RSGS program to defined U.S. military satellites against attacks from supposedly peaceful Chinese and Russian robotic spacecraft.
Satellites, command-and-control systems taking a bigger bite of nuclear modernization budget
In a new report on nuclear modernization, the Congressional Budget Office projects rising costs for airborne command centers and for early warning and communications satellites.
Future military satcom system puts cybersecurity first
Electronic threats against satellite communication have rapidly escalated in the last few years and will continue to advance in the foreseeable future.
USAF prepares to launch billion-dollar communications satellite while it studies future alternatives
The U.S. Air Force is planning an October launch for AEHF-4, the fourth of the Advanced Extremely High Frequency constellation of nuclear-hardened classified communications satellites used by the military to plan air strikes, transmit secret mission plans and coordinate operations around the world, including a nuclear war.
Is the cost of military space programs going up or down? Depends on how you count
For the space-based infrared SBIRS satellites 5 and 6, the Air Force says the per-unit cost went down 12 percent — from $1.9 billion to $1.6 billion.
USAF sees “minimal” mission impact with AEHF-4 satellite launch delay
A problem with the power regulator on the Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF)-4 satellite is forcing the U.S. Air Force to slip the launch of the satellite until the coming calendar year but the service says the delay will not result in a major mission impact.
Lockheed Martin Space Systems earnings down despite big ULA contribution
Lockheed Martin on July 20 reported lower revenue and operating profit at its Space Systems division for the six months ending June 26 despite a large profit contribution by launch-service provider United Launch Alliance (ULA).
More SBIRS, AEHF satellites still a possibility, Lockheed Martin says
A top Lockheed Martin space executive said the Air Force might need to build two more protected communications and two more missile-warning satellites as it transitions to next-generation architectures for both programs.
Pentagon: Narrowband? Wideband? Just call them communications satellites
The Defense Department may abandon its practice of distinguishing between wideband, narrowband and protected communications on its next generation of tactical communications satellites, a top Pentagon official said March 7.
Pentagon will decide future of two high-profile satellite programs by year’s end
The U.S. Defense Department plans to decide the future makeup of two of the Air Force’s most valuable satellite programs before the year's end, the Pentagon’s acquisition czar said Feb. 22.
Kendall lays out Pentagon thinking on future space programs
Frank Kendall, the Pentagon’s top acquisition official, spoke to the Washington Space Business Roundtable Feb. 23, offering insight into how the U.S. Defense Department is approaching some of the military space community’s long-standing concerns.
U.S. Air Force Declares Three-satellite AEHF Constellation Operational
The U.S. Air Force in late July conferred “initial operational capability” (IOC) status on its constellation of three highly secure communications satellites, a declaration that comes five years after the launch of the first and means the system can now be used more broadly.
