Raytheon and the U.S. Army recently completed successful testing of the first Advanced Extremely High Frequency, or AEHF, satellite communications production terminals.

Raytheon's Secure Mobile Anti-jam Reliable Tactical Terminal (SMART-T) offers the next generation of protected communications with AEHF satellites.

It is the first AEHF system across the U.S. Armed Services to enter production and achieve this first article testing milestone, verifying that it meets all performance, function and production requirements.

The testing follows Raytheon's $97.5 million contract to produce and install AEHF upgrade kits that increase the data rate of existing SMART-T systems four fold. The award, which is part of an indefinite delivery-indefinite quantity contract originally awarded in 2007, increases the total value to $290 million.

"With the cancellation of the Transformational Communications Satellite system, AEHF solutions are more critical than ever," said Jerry Powlen, vice president, Network Centric Systems Integrated Communications Systems.

"Raytheon has shown its commitment to protected satellite communications by providing key AEHF solutions to the U.S. Army, Air Force and Navy."