APOGEE STAFF

ustralia has selected Lockheed Martin to build a satellite and ground station architecture as part of a contract valued at $2.86 billion, the nation’s largest-ever for space defense.

The program, Project JP9102, the Australian Defence Satellite Communications System, would deliver Australia’s first “sovereign-controlled satellite communication system over the Indo-Pacific ocean regions,” Air Vice-Marshal David Scheul, head of the Air Defence and Space Systems Division, said in a statement announcing the award in 2023.

“Currently across [the Department of] Defence there [are] up to 89 capabilities which depend on satellite communications,” Scheul said. “Once delivered, the new system will increase the resilience, agility and flexibility of Defence’s military satellite capability.”

The Australian Defence Force (ADF) said the new satellite communication system will include:

  • New ADF controlled and operated geostationary communications satellites.
  • Multiple ground stations across Australia.
  • An integrated satellite communications management system.
  • Two new satellite communications operations centers.

Robert Lightfoot, executive vice president for Lockheed Martin Space, said in a statement, “We are bringing to bear all of Lockheed Martin’s companywide capabilities as well as our commitment to supporting allied nations to provide an operationally proven system that meets mission needs in terms of coverage, capacity, resilience and extensibility of the constellation.”

The ADF has other defense satellite communication options, but they’re limited or nearing the end of their life cycle, according to an April 2023 report by the website Breaking Defense. The ADF controls a communications payload on an Optus C-1 satellite, but it’s nearing the end of its operational life, and it has access to 20 channels on Intelsat IS-22. However, that deal is set to expire in 2024. It also has access to another satellite defense constellation, the Boeing-built Wideband Global SATCOM system, but getting access to it in a timely manner has been a problem, Breaking Defense reported.

“This capability will provide the Australian Defence Force with robust connectivity and reliable information when and where they need it, and by extension, contribute further to the growth and development of Australia’s defense and space industries,” Warren McDonald, chief executive for Lockheed Martin Australia and New Zealand, said in a statement.

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