Lockheed Martin’s sixth AEHF satellite being encapsulated in its protective fairings ahead of March launch buy ULA. Photo:

The final Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) military satellite, which was launched in March, is now under the control of Space Operations Command. The U.S. Space Force Space and Missile Systems Center announced Dec. 4 that its production corps successfully transferred satellite control authority of AEHF Space Vehicle 6 (SV-06) on Oct. 29. Operational Acceptance is expected by the end of the year after operational testing is completed. 

SV-06 completes the Milstar/AEHF constellation, which provides nuclear communications, and command and control capabilities.The AEHF program was built to replace the aging Military Strategic and Tactical Relay (Milstar) systems launched in the 1990s. According to Lockheed Martin, which built the AEHF satellites, a single AEHF satellite provides greater total capacity than the entire five-satellite Milstar constellation.

SV-06 was launched by ULA on an Atlas 551 rocket on March 26 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Orbit raising to Geostationary Orbit (GEO) was completed in August, and testing was conducted from seven locations across the country that involved nine organizations. 

“AEHF enables both strategic and tactical users to communicate globally across a high-speed network that delivers protected communications – including real-time video, battlefield maps and targeting data — in any environment,” Erik Daehler, director of Protected Communications for Lockheed Martin Space said in a statement. 

[Read more about the evolution of the AEHF program and military satcom in Via Satellite’s May edition: Final AEHF Launch Marks a Turning Point for DoD Space Acquisition]