Advertisment

Pentagon awards $2.5 b. satellite contract

author-image
CIOL Bureau
Updated On
New Update

Lockheed Martin, Hughes Electronics and TRW are once again working with each

other, rather than against each other, in developing and deploying a major new

US military defense system. The three firms jointly won a $2.5 billion contract

to build the Pentagon’s next generation military communications satellites. In

all, the contract calls for a constellation of five next-generation

communications satellites, the first of which is expected to be launched in late

2004.

Less than two months ago, the team of Lockheed and TRW was competing against

Hughes for the contract. But Pentagon eventually agreed to a joint proposal that

offered to improve the transmission capability at half the cost than previously

forecast. The cooperation also moved up the delivery of the system by 18 months.

Earlier, the three firms also won a joint contract for the Milstar II

communications satellite project. TRW and Hughes will build the satellites at

their Redondo Beach and El Segundo facilities in California. Lockheed Martin's

space unit in Sunnyvale (Silicon Valley) will integrate the satellites and test

them.

tech-news