Lockheed Martin reports that is has delivered the flight structure for the third Advanced Extremely High Frequency satellite in just 10 months since contract start. Julie Sattler, Lockheed space systems VP calls it “a significant achievement.” Technicians at the company’s space and technology facility in Mississippi now will mate the flight structure with its propulsion subsystem. Lockheed expects to begin final assembly on the first AEHF sat early next year, working toward launch in April 2008. And the second AEHF would launch a year later.
South Korea conducted the final live-fire drill with its F-4 Phantom II and AGM-142 missiles before retiring the two defense assets in June, amid the largest U.S.-Korea Aerial Exercise in full swing.