Boeing to begin second phase of enhanced Polar System Payload study

Boeing Co. in St. Louis and the U.S. Air Force MILSATCOM Systems Wing have exercised an $8.4 million contract option to activate Phase II of the Enhanced Polar System (EPS) payload study. Phase I began in July 2006 with a $1.5 million award to Boeing to define the next-generation communications payload for a polar-orbiting satellite. Phase II focuses on further payload system definition efforts and lays the foundation for future EPS system definition and production. The work is expected to conclude in December 2007. The proposed EPS would provide protected satellite communications for warfighters operating in northern polar regions and fill expected communications gaps in areas not covered by the military’s Advanced Extremely High Frequency and Transformational Satellite Communications systems now in development. This contract is the first step in defining a robust and secure satellite payload needed for Extremely High Frequency communications in remote regions of the world. The U.S. Air Force MILSATCOM Systems Wing at the Space and Missile Systems Center at Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif., will oversee the Enhanced Polar System program.

Lockheed Martin completes successful tracking with open architecture, solid-state radar antenna

Lockheed Martin in Moorestown, N.J., displayed live tracks with its internally developed Scalable Solid-State S-band Radar (S4R) Engineering Development Model (EDM). The S4R EDM is an active, electronically-steered, antenna-based radar system designed to be scalable to support multiple missions, including air surveillance, cruise missile defense, ballistic missile defense, counter target acquisition, and littoral operations. The design is derived from the S-band antenna developed for the U.S. Navy’s Volume Search Radar on the DDG-1000 next-generation destroyer. The S4R EDM was developed using Silicon Carbide (SiC)-based high-power Transmit/Receive (T/R) modules. SiC provides greater power than other commonly used materials due to its increased heat tolerance. With more power, the radar has longer range and provides more precise target discrimination.

General Dynamics to produce tactical satellite communications terminals

General Dynamics C4 Systems in Taunton, Mass., has been awarded a $15.5 million order for satellite communications terminals that will be used in the U.S. Marine Corps’ Support Wide Area Network (SWAN) program. The U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Lifecycle Management Command in Ft. Monmouth, N.J., is the contracting authority. This requirement for equipment to support SWAN is part of a four-year, indefinite-quantity/indefinite-delivery contract that has a total potential value of $160 million if all options are exercised. The terminals will provide deployed warfighters robust, beyond-line-of-sight communications for a broad spectrum of information services including video, multimedia, data, and imagery. The Marine’s SWAN program is acquiring this equipment through the World-Wide Satellite Systems (WWSS) contract, which is intended to provide communications systems that are capable of overcoming existing and projected bandwidth constraints for Department of Defense transformation programs worldwide.