The US Air Force’s fifth Lockheed Martin-built Advanced Extremely High Frequency satellite (AEHF-5) was recently ‘encapsulated’ in preparation for its launch (aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket) from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in a launch window scheduled to open at 6am EDT (eastern daylight time) on 27 June.

AEHF-5 is the most recent addition to a constellation of satellites providing “global, survivable, highly secure and protected communications for strategic command and tactical ‘warfighters’ operating on ground, sea and air platforms”.

Lockheed Martin (www.lockheedmartin.com) developed and manufactured the satellite at its production facility in Sunnyvale, California.

After the satellite was built, it was shipped to Cape Canaveral by a C-5 aircraft.

The AEHF team is led by the Military Satellite Communications Directorate at the US Air Force’s Space and Missiles Systems Centre at the Los Angeles Air Force Base, California.

Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor for the AEHF.

The jam-resistant AEHF system also serves international partners that include Canada, the Netherlands and the UK.