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15 August 2001 |
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http://www.vny.com/cf/news/upidetail.cfm?QID=212045 |
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WASHINGTON, Aug. 15 (UPI) -- A behind-schedule military satellite program that could close the gaps in secure global communications coverage came under scrutiny Wednesday by a Pentagon review panel that could decide its fate. "This (review by the Defense Acquisitions Board)) is certainly one of the milestones that all major programs at the Pentagon must go through," said a Pentagon spokeswoman. The Advanced Extremely High Frequency satellite system, slated to replace the military's incomplete Milstar system, apparently is already as much as $1 billion over its original $2.6 billion budget. The Washington Post also reported Wednesday that contractors now say they are unlikely to meet its 2004 launch target. The Advanced EHF system -- being built by Lockheed Martin, TRW and a division of Hughes, which is now part of Boeing -- offers more bandwidth for U.S. military communications. A source its benefits as being akin to replacing a dial-up telephone modem with DSL Internet service. Milstar, conceived during the Cold War, has been hampered by problems with the fourth and last satellite of the network, which a Lockheed-Martin-built rocket put into improper orbit in 1999. The result is gaps in communications similar to that experienced with some cellular telephone service networks. The three companies had banded together for the project when bidding was first opened and said it could produce the Advanced EHF by December 2004 instead of the June 2006 date the military first sought. As a result, the Pentagon closed the bidding process and awarded them the contract. Industry analysts expect the Pentagon to continue with the trio, which would help preserve the industrial base for building military satellites. |
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