AEHF-5 handed over to US Space Operations Command
Control of the US Space Force Space and Missile Systems Center’s (SMC’s) fifth Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF-5) communications satellite has been successfully transferred to Space Operations Command.
AEHF-5 completed on-orbit testing under control of SME prior to its handover to military operators located at Schriever Air Force Base, Colorado.
The handover marks the final AEHF-5 milestone and the first transition of a satellite to the military under the US Space Force.
AEHF is a joint-service satellite communications system providing survivable, global, secure, protected and jam-resistant communications for high-priority military ground, sea and air assets. AEHF is the follow-on to the Milstar system, providing ten times the throughput with a substantial increase in coverage for users, satisfying the ever-growing need to provide higher rates of data to support operations worldwide.
AEHF provides connectivity across the spectrum of mission areas, including land, air and naval warfare; special operations; strategic nuclear operations; strategic defence; theatre missile defence, and space operations and intelligence. It also provides protected satellite communications to international partners Canada, the UK, the Netherlands and Australia.
The sixth and final AEHF-6 satellite is scheduled to launch in March.
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