The Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) team of Lockheed Martin Space & Strategic Missiles, Sunnyvale, Calif. and Northrop Grumman Space Technology, Redondo Beach, Calif. has successfully completed all 49 Preliminary Design Reviews (PDR). Conclusion of the PDR phase represents a major program milestone demonstrating that the next-generation satellite system meets all technical performance requirements for their customer, the MILSATCOM Joint Program Office, U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center.

"The entire team deserves kudos for executing a highly efficient and successful PDR phase," said Julie Sattler, AEHF program director for Lockheed Martin Space & Strategic Missiles. "Working as integrated product teams, we have achieved a major milestone in this critical national program, which will be the most complex, sophisticated military communications satellite system ever produced. We are now into the critical design review stage where we validate our detailed design in preparation for the production phase."

The AEHF program will provide the next generation of global, highly secure, survivable communications for warfighters in all services of the Department of Defense. Lockheed Martin Space & Strategic Missiles is currently under contract to provide the first two AEHF satellites and command and control system. Northrop Grumman Space Technology is the payload provider.

"We have made excellent progress on the payload over the last 18 months and are on track to complete all engineering model hardware by the end of this year. This will give us high confidence that our flight hardware will meet all performance requirements," said Clayton Kau, Northrop Grumman's vice president & program manager for the AEHF Payload.

AEHF satellites will provide improved secure data throughput capability and increased coverage flexibility to regional and global military operations and will be backward compatible with the Milstar I and II system. The Mission Control Segment (ground system hardware and software development and deployment) is being led by Lockheed Martin Management & Data Systems of Valley Forge, Pa. The Mission Control Segment will consolidate Milstar and Advanced EHF satellite control and communication resource planning into a single, modernized Mission Control System.

Space & Strategic Missiles is part of Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, headquartered in Denver, Colo., one of the major operating units of Lockheed Martin Corporation. Space Systems designs, develops, tests, manufactures and operates a variety of advanced technology systems for military, civil and commercial customers. Chief products include space launch and ground systems, remote sensing and communications satellites for commercial and government customers, advanced space observatories and interplanetary spacecraft, fleet ballistic missiles and missile defense systems.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin employs about 125,000 people worldwide and is a global enterprise principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture and integration of advanced technology systems, products, and services. The Corporation reported 2002 sales of $26.6 billion.

CONTACT: Steve Tatum of Lockheed Martin Space & Strategic Missiles, +1-408-742-7531, or pager, 888-926-2912, or stephen.o.tatum@lmco.com.

SOURCE: Lockheed Martin Space & Strategic Missiles