The $26 billion Transformational Satellite, or TSAT, program would die under a new budget plan that Secretary of Defense Robert Gates today unveiled in a news briefing.
The Boeing Co. [BA] and Lockheed Martin Corp. [LMT] were competing for the future contract, with each company boasting a roster of major subcontractors on its team.
“We will terminate the $26 billion Transformational Satellite program, and instead will purchase two more Advanced Extremely High Frequency satellites as alternatives,” Gates said. TSAT was to succeed AEHF, which itself succeeded the old Milstar system.
Northrop Grumman Corp. [NOC] is involved in AEHF.
The issue here is how to provide better communications to military personnel wherever they may be.
AEHF is to be the next generation military strategic and tactical relay system, delivering survivable, protected communications to U.S. forces and selected allies worldwide, according to Northrop.
The system provides the joint, interoperable, assured connectivity for warfighters in operations in all levels of conflict — a capability not available through other planned military communication networks.
AEHF provides much greater capacity and more flexible coverage than its predecessor, Milstar, while assuring operational continuity through compatibility with the Milstar constellation.
Although Gates has proposed dropping the TSAT program, his plan is at this point a proposal that he is making to President Obama, who will exercise a final choice on the issue.
After that, Obama next month is expected to send his federal government budget plan for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2010, to Congress, a plan that will include defense spending items such as military communications systems.
Thus the Gates proposal to abolish TSAT is not guaranteed to take effect.