Posted: Tue, Sep 24, 2002, 8:04 AM ET (1204 GMT)
Lockheed Martin and Raytheon won contracts from the US Navy Monday to begin technology development for a new generation of military communications satellites. Each company received $40 million to begin architecture and risk reduction activities for the Mobile User Objective System (MUOS). The 14-month contracts are designed to refine the designs these two companies presented for the MUOS system, a planned replacement for the Navy's existing UHF Follow On (UFO) spacecraft. The contracts do not prevent the Pentagon from selecting other companies to eventually build the MUOS spacecraft, including Boeing and Spectrum Astro, who had each submitted designs but did not receive contracts.

Related Links:

•  Space News article (subscription required)
•  Lockheed Martin press release