The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] has delivered the first Family of Advanced Beyond line-of-sight Terminals (FAB-T) Engineering Development Model (EDM) to the U.S. Air Force B-2 Program. Boeing and the Air Force will use the EDM to initiate platform integration and test activities.

Over the next few months, additional EDM units will be delivered to undergo integration and flight testing on a Boeing 707 test aircraft operated by the Air Force and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Lincoln Labs, and on an operational RC-135 aircraft at Majors Field in Greenville, Texas.

"The delivery of the first FAB-T EDM terminal to the Air Force B-2 integration program is a significant milestone for this nuclear command and control terminal program," said Brig. Gen. Samuel A. Greaves, commander of the Military Satellite Communications Systems Wing at the Space and Missile Systems Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif. "Congratulations to the FAB-T team on this first step toward providing a new communications capability to the warfighter that is critical to the nation's defense."

A transformational communications program led by the Air Force, the FAB-T system will provide a multi-mission-capable family of satellite communication terminals to strategic command and control forces. The airborne and ground-based terminals will communicate with multiple satellites and enable information to be exchanged between ground, air and space platforms.

"The delivery of the FAB-T terminal by the Boeing team and its Air Force counterparts is an important step toward providing protected satellite communications capability to the United States' strategic command and control enterprise," said Nan Bouchard, Boeing C3 Networks vice president and general manager. "Boeing is very proud of the team's effort at achieving this major milestone."

The system includes software-defined radios, antennas and user interfaces that will enable the user to host numerous waveforms that accommodate data rates in excess of the current SATCOM capability.

FAB-T systems are compatible with the existing MILSTAR Extremely High Frequency and the Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) communications satellite constellations, providing a seamless transition as the AEHF constellation replaces MILSTAR.

A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is one of the world's largest space and defense businesses specializing in innovative and capabilities-driven customer solutions, and the world's largest and most versatile manufacturer of military aircraft. Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is a $32 billion business with 70,000 employees worldwide.