The Air Force has awarded Lockheed Martin [LMT] a $3.3 billion contract to provide support services for several military communications satellite programs, per a Nov. 15 contract announcement.
The award provides for 10 years of indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contracts related to the service’s Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) military satcom program, as well as the Milstar constellation that AEHF is slowly replacing and the Defense Satellite Communications Systems (DSCS) III constellation.
Lockheed Martin has been the prime contractor for the Air Force’s combined operations and support contract for these three programs, and the award is the result of a sole-source acquisition, per the contract notice. Work will be performed at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, and Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado, as well as at Lockheed Martin’s facilities in Sunnyvale, California. It is expected to be completed by Nov. 30, 2029. No funds will be obligated on the basic contract and the type of funding will be obligated on subsequent task and delivery orders, the notice said.
The Milstar and DSCS constellations are legacy Air Force programs, with Milstar satellites launched between 1994 and 2003, and DSCS systems launched between 1982 and 2003.
The Air Force has successfully launched five out of six planned AEHF satellites, with the most recent launch of AEHF-5 taking place Aug. 8 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket. ULA is a joint venture formed by Lockheed Martin and Boeing [BA]. The sixth AEHF satellite is currently in development at Lockheed Martin’s Sunnyvale facility, and is currently scheduled to launch in March 2020, officials told reporters in July (Defense Daily, July 24).