Boeing completed software qualification testing and systems integration testing for the Family of Advanced Beyond Line-of-Sight Terminals it is developing for the Air Force, announced the company. It also integrated the terminals with the mission control system for Advanced Extremely High Frequency and Milstar military communications satellites, states the company’s Jan. 29 release. “With these significant achievements, Boeing has demonstrated via formal software qualification testing and informal system-level integration testing that the Boeing design meets FAB-T’s functional and performance requirements,” said Paul Geery, the company’s FAB-T program manager. He added, “We’ve also demonstrated AEHF spacecraft control, which is critical to FAB-T’s mission. Our effort is the only industry offering that has demonstrated this capability.” Raytheon is also maturing a FAB-T design for the Air Force as a potential alternate supplier under a contract awarded last September. AEHF and Milstar satellites will relay FAB-T communications once these terminals, both ground-based and airborne, are operational. FAB-T hardware will support the command and control of US nuclear forces. (See also Boeing Completes FAB-T Design Review.)
“Military history shows that the best defense is almost always a maneuvering offense supported by solid logistics. This was true for mechanized land warfare, air combat, and naval operations since World War II. It will also be true as the world veers closer to military conflict in space,” writes Aidan…