Lockheed Martin Space Systems has received the combined orbital operations logistics sustainment (COOLS) contract from the US Air Force (USAF) Space Command’s Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC).
The service contract is valued at more than $735m. It will see Lockheed provide operations and sustainment support for three disparate satellite constellations.
The constellations include the Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF), Milstar Block I/II, and Defense Satellite Communications System III (DSCS III).
SMC commander and air force programme space executive officer lieutenant general Sam Greaves said: "The application of Better Buying Power principles garnered $425m of savings over the total contract period by combining the sustainment of the three systems into one.
"This is $425m that can be used for other high priority air force missions."
The satellite constellations are designed to offer secure nuclear command and control for the president of the US, and communications for war fighters worldwide.
The contract will be managed by SMC’s Military Satellite Communications Systems Directorate.
Work under this contract will be performed in four locations such as Sunnyvale and Redondo Beach, California; Colorado Springs, Colorado; and Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, US.
The period of performance under the contract is scheduled to be completed on 30 November 2019.
In February this year, the USAF AEHF system successfully completed a multi-service operational test and evaluation programme at Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado, US.
The trials validated the system’s advanced ground mobile unit, and its integration to the legacy Milstar constellation. They also confirmed the system’s communication capability for end-users and proved its ability to operate in a nuclear environment.
Image: An artistic impression of advanced extremely high-frequency satellite in Orbit. Photo: courtesy photo / Space and Missile Systems Center.
