Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado. 14 August 2019. The fifth Advanced Extremely High Frequency ( AEHF-5 ) satellite, a strategic and protected communications satellite, has been successfully launched by an Atlas V 551 rocket for the USAF’s fourth Space Operations Squadron from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. Lockheed Martin has manufactured the satellite which is now responding to the squadron’s commands as planned. The Lockheed Martin built AEHF-5 satellite is now responding to the squadron’s commands as planned, the USAF squadron started “talking” with the satellite shortly after AEHF-5 isolated from Atlas V 551 rocket approx 5 hours and 40 minutes after the space rocket’s successful liftoff.
Mike Cacheiro, Vice-President for Protected Communications at Lockheed Martin Space, asserted, “This fifth satellite adds an additional layer of flexibility for critical strategic and tactical protected communications serving the warfighter. This added resilience to the existing constellation will help ensure warfighters can connect globally to communicate and transmit data at all times. In the weeks ahead, AEHF-5 will move towards its operational orbit, deploy all of its solar arrays and antennas, and turn on its powerful communications payload for a rigorous testing phase prior to hand over to the Air Force.”
With the successful launch of AEHF-5, a geostationary ring of five satellites has been completed that will provide global coverage for survivable, highly secure and protected communications for strategic command and tactical warfighters operating on ground, sea and air platforms. Lockheed Martin has completed design, process and manufacturing for all five on-orbit AEHF satellites at its advanced satellite manufacturing facility in Sunnyvale, California. Due to its advanced Extended Data Rate (XDR) waveform technology, AEHF-5 adds to the constellation’s high-bandwidth network. AEHF-6 will be the next which is expected to launch next year and currently in full production in Silicon Valley. Besides U.S. forces, AEHF also serves international partners including Canada, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
“Individual data rates increase five-fold compared to Milstar, permitting transmission of tactical military communications, such as real-time video, battlefield maps and targeting data. AEHF affords national leaders anti-jam, always-on connectivity during all levels of conflict and enables both strategic and tactical users to communicate globally across a high-speed network that delivers protected communications in any environment,” Cacheiro added.
The AEHF squad includes the U.S. Air Force Military Satellite Communications Systems Directorate at the Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, California, Lockheed Martin Space, Sunnyvale, California, is the AEHF prime contractor, space and ground segments provider as well as system integrator. while Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems, Redondo Beach, California is the payload provider.
