Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Seattle Times
June 25, 2008
A competition between Boeing and Lockheed Martin worth as much as $9 billion for a new military-communications satellite can proceed, the Pentagon said.
The Air Force this month received permission from acquisition undersecretary John Young to award a contract as soon as September to develop and build for launch by 2018 the first of five satellites that move data over laser beams instead of radio frequencies, according to a statement.
Boeing and Lockheed, along with Lockheed subcontractor Northrop Grumman, have design contracts to show that the technology is feasible and will now vie to build the first satellite.
Young had put the 4-year-old program on hold earlier this year to assess whether it should survive, undergo a major reorganization or be terminated because of concerns over cost and technology.
June 25, 2008
A competition between Boeing and Lockheed Martin worth as much as $9 billion for a new military-communications satellite can proceed, the Pentagon said.
The Air Force this month received permission from acquisition undersecretary John Young to award a contract as soon as September to develop and build for launch by 2018 the first of five satellites that move data over laser beams instead of radio frequencies, according to a statement.
Boeing and Lockheed, along with Lockheed subcontractor Northrop Grumman, have design contracts to show that the technology is feasible and will now vie to build the first satellite.
Young had put the 4-year-old program on hold earlier this year to assess whether it should survive, undergo a major reorganization or be terminated because of concerns over cost and technology.