Raytheon Co. and the US Army recently completed successful testing of the first Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellite-communications production terminals. The firm's Secure Mobile Anti-jam Reliable Tactical Terminal (SMART-T) offers the next generation of protected communications with AEHF satellites. The testing follows Raytheon's $97.5 million contract to produce and install AEHF upgrade kits that increase the data rate of existing SMART-T systems by fourfold. The award, which is part of an indefinite-delivery-indefinite-quantity contract that was originally awarded in 2007, increases the total value to $290 million.
"With the cancellation of the Transformational Communications Satellite system, AEHF solutions are more critical than ever," says Jerry Powlen, Vice President, Network Centric Systems Integrated Communications Systems. "Raytheon has shown its commitment to protected satellite communications by providing key AEHF solutions to the US Army, Air Force, and Navy."