The Air Force dropped the Advanced Wideband Terminal (AWT) requirement from its Family of Advanced Beyond Line-of-Sight Terminals (FAB-T) program and will proceed with Command Post Terminal (CPT)-only production, according to Raytheon [RTN], one of two companies bidding for the multi-billion dollar program.
Raytheon Vice President for Integrated Communication Scott Whatmough told reporters on Jan. 22 the Air Force decided to go with the CPT-only approach as a result of the budgeting process for 2015 and beyond and money not being allocated for installation on AWT platforms. Whatmough said Raytheon in December, along with competitor
Boeing [BA], provided updates for CPT-only production. The Air Force said in October it would release two separate requests for proposals (RFP), one for production of full FAB-T capability with both AWT and CPT and one for CPT-only production, but that only one contract path would be continued.
The Air Force is now in source selection for FAB-T, which Whatmough said could happen by the end of March. The Air Force said in September it has a goal of January for source selection. The total value of FAB-T is estimated to be around $4.5 billion, according to an industry source.
Whatmough said there are 84 CPT systems to be delivered and distributed between E-4 and E-6 ground fixed and ground transportable installations. If AWT would have been included, Whatmough said it would have been for an additional 132 terminals for B-2, B-52s and RC-135 aircraft. Environmental testing for the CPT will take place later this quarter, Whatmough said.
Raytheon has fully tested more than 90 percent of the Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) waveform software for CPT, Whatmough said. The company also has the entire modem in final form factor ready to go into formal qualification testing in the next few months. Whatmough said Raytheon has also performed engineering confidence testing on the systems before going into formal qualification. AEHF, developed by Lockheed Martin [LMT], is the Air Force’s next-generation nuclear survivable communications satellite platform.
Whatmough said the two differences between the CPT and AWT are the mechanical configuration required and radiation hardness. Each aircraft, he said, has a different ability to host the antenna with the B-2 having a low radar cross section and providing its own AEHF antenna while the B-52 is a traditional widebody. The B-2 AEHF antenna was developed under a contract with Northrop Grumman [NOC], Whatmough said, and is not a part of the FAB-T solicitation.
Boeing spokesman Richard Esposito said Jan. 29 in an email the CPT-only decision has no impact on Boeing’s offering. Boeing is near the end of the system development and demonstration (SDD) phase, Esposito said, and is getting ready to proceed into production.
“We are eager to support the USAF decision whichever path they need to take,” Esposito said.
FAB-T provides the strategic nuclear and non-nuclear command and control (C2) with EHF, wideband, protected and survivable communications terminals for beyond line-of-sight communications, according to a notice posted on Federal Business Opportunities (FBO). FAB-T is part of the terminal and control segments of the AEHF satellite system and is required to provide telemetry, tracking and commanding (TT&C) of the AEHF and Milstar satellites and to fully utilize the increased capacity of the AEHF constellation. The FAB-T program will develop and field airborne and ground based military satellite communications (MILSATCOM) terminal capability. FAB-T provides both wideband and survivable protected communications to the strategic and tactical warfighter. Terminals are compatible with AEHF satellites and legacy Milstar EHF satellite systems.