Boeing Delivers Software-Defined FAB-T Radio Prototype

Boeing Delivers Software-Defined FAB-T Radio Prototype

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif., Sept. 16, 2008 -- Boeing [NYSE: BA] has moved a step closer to linking military ground, air and space assets with the delivery of its next-generation Family of Advanced Beyond line-of-sight Terminals (FAB-T) prototype to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Lincoln Laboratory in Lexington, Mass.

The delivery completes a key hardware and software risk reduction requirement for FAB-T Increment 2 under a program funded by the U.S. Air Force. Lincoln Laboratory will use the prototype to continue developing the DVB-S2 based waveform for airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance readout over Ka band military satellite communications.
"Developing and delivering this prototype is a significant step in reducing technology risk for the Air Force," said Jim Dodd, Wideband Communications and RF Systems manager for Boeing. "Delivering the prototype ahead of schedule allows the lab to stay on target with this critical Ka-band waveform technology development."

During pre-delivery tests, the prototype demonstrated that certain key, advanced technologies intended for use in the FAB-T Increment 2 modem processor group can be successfully implemented and perform as expected.
FAB-T will provide military forces with a secure, multi-mission-capable family of software-defined radios that use satellites to exchange information between ground, air and space platforms such as the B-2, B-52, command post terminals and Global Hawk unmanned air vehicle.
FAB-T will offer the government a powerful system capable of hosting numerous waveforms that can accommodate data rates in excess of 300 megabits per second. FAB-T represents a key building block in the Air Force's vision of the integrated battlespace of the future, whereby networked information and communications systems provide a decisive advantage to decision-makers and military personnel.

Boeing is planning to begin deliveries of Engineering Development Modules later this year for the first FAB-T increment, which fulfills airborne and ground operational requirements for the Milstar and Advanced Extremely High Frequency satellite systems. Increment 2 will develop terminals to support Wideband Global SATCOM satellite operations on surveillance aircraft like Global Hawk, with other platforms expected to follow.

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