Lockheed Martin began early assembly of the fourth Advanced Extremely High Frequency satellite thanks to early delivery of its payload and engine core, the company announced. “We are putting plans in place to finish six months ahead of our baseline schedule” saving money in the process, said Mark Calassa, company vice president of protected communication systems. The launch of AEHF-4, tentatively slated for 2017, will enable the new military communications satellite constellation to reach full operational capability, according to the company. Lockheed Martin is under contract to deliver six AEHF satellites, which will replace the Defense Department’s legacy MILSTAR system with higher capacity, jam-resistant communications. The AEHF payload is built by Northrop Grumman, but Lockheed Martin as the lead contractor is in charge of integration. (Northrop Grumman release.)
Three of four congressional committees with influence over defense policy have voted to change the official name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War—but final approval of the Pentagon rebrand is months away and not yet assured.