Raytheon Wins $34 Million U.S. Military Satellite System Contract

Raytheon has won a modification contract from U.S. Air Force, which is expected to be completed by October.

The $34 million modification contract is to continue developing a secure military satellite terminal system, according to July 1 release from the U.S. Defense Department.

The contract is part of a two-company competition to develop the Family of Beyond Line of Sight-Terminals (FAB-T), which will be used in conjunction with the Air Force’s highly secure communications satellites to enable the president to talk with staff and military commanders under the worst of conditions, including nuclear war. Raytheon and Boeing Network and Space Systems of Arlington, Va., are developing competing FAB-T terminals.

Boeing was the original prime contractor on FAB-T but struggled, prompting the U.S. Air Force, after the program suffered major delays and cost overruns, to restructure the company’s contract into a fixed-price arrangement last year. A short time later the service awarded Raytheon a $70 million contract to develop a competing FAB-T design.

The U.S. Air Force expects to award two FAB-T production readiness planning later contracts this summer, according to the service’s 2014 budget request. A downselect for FAB-T production is anticipated in December.