Under the terms of the deal, Lockheed Martin will produce the fifth and sixth AEHF satellites.

   “As protected and resilient satellite communications become increasingly vital to global security, the AEHF program has developed into an indispensable element of the nation’s military space architecture,” Lockheed Martin Vice President of Protected Communications Mark Calassa said in a statement. “This production contract for the fifth and sixth AEHF satellites affirms the government’s confidence in our ability to deliver these spacecraft affordably and efficiently to meet the burgeoning demand from strategic and tactical users worldwide.”

   The first two AEHF satellites were launched in 2010 and 2012, respectively. The network is shared by the United States, Canada, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The AEHF aims to improve secure military communications, ensuring safe lines of communication between the president and top military leaders in extreme situations such as a nuclear attack. It represents a significant upgrade on the Milstar system, which has been in place since 1994.