ATLANTA, April 12, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- EMS Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:ELMG) has announced today that it has completed the first set of beam-forming networks (BFN) for the Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) military communications program. Under development by a team led by Lockheed Martin Corporation, AEHF will provide the next generation of global, highly secure, survivable communications for warfighters in all services of the Department of Defense.
BFNs are a key technology that will allow a satellite's nulling antennas, built by Northrop Grumman, to provide anti-jam protection. The BFN form shaped patterns on Earth that "null," or zero out, signals from potential jammers while permitting friendly users with the area of coverage to communicate with the satellite. The anti-jam function occurs autonomously, without commands from Earth.
"The BFN's performance is meeting all requirements, making it the first major AEHF program flight payload component to complete flight acceptance testing," said Clayton Kau, vice president -- Advanced EHF program -- Northrop Grumman Space Technology. "We are pleased that EMS Technologies delivered the protoflight model two months ahead of schedule."
"EMS is pleased to achieve this milestone for the AEHF program in close cooperation with Northrop Grumman. Understanding how critical the AEHF program is to our nation's defense, we committed a dedicated team that was able to stay on top of all issues and deliver this critical hardware to our customer without delay," added Jay Grove, senior vice president and general manager of EMS's Space & Technology/Atlanta Division. "The AEHF BFN again demonstrates EMS's expertise in manufacturing key pieces of mission-critical satellite communications systems, including switching networks, modulators and signal nulling subsystems."
Advanced EHF satellites will provide 10 times greater total capacity and offer channel data rates six times higher than that of Milstar II communications satellites. Northrop Grumman will deliver the Advanced EHF payloads to the system prime contractor, Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Sunnyvale, Calif. Lockheed Martin is currently under contract to provide the first two Advanced EHF satellites and command control system.
The first AEHF satellite is scheduled for launch in 2007.
About Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman is supplying the satellite communications payloads to Lockheed Martin Space Systems, the prime contractor for the Advanced EHF program under a contract with the U.S. Air Force. The first Advanced EHF satellite is scheduled for launch in early 2007.
With approximately 120,000 employees and operations in all 50 states and in 25 countries, Northrop Grumman serves U.S. and international military, government and commercial customers.
About EMS Technologies, Inc.
EMS Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:ELMG) is a leading innovator in the design and manufacture of wireless, satellite and defense electronics solutions, focusing its unique range of advanced technologies on the needs of broadband and mobile information users. Headquartered in Atlanta, EMS employs approximately 1,700 people worldwide, and has manufacturing facilities in Atlanta, Montreal, Ottawa and Brazil.
EMS Technologies' Space & Technology/Atlanta Division develops advanced technology hardware for military and space applications. The Division provides critical subsystems and components for airborne, commercial and space-based communication, and RADAR and electronic warfare systems. With EMS hardware, military customers benefit from the industry's most advanced surveillance, electronic counter-measure and secure communications capabilities. For more information, visit EMS on the World Wide Web at www.ems-t.com.
For more information, please contact:
Anne Wainscott-Sargent Bob Bishop Public Relations Media Relations EMS Technologies, Inc. Northrop Grumman 770-263-9200, ext. 4326 310-812-5227 pr@ems-t.com bob.j.bishop@ngc.com