As part of the “hosted payload” contract valued at US$167 million, Intelsat will arrange the construction and integration of the UHF payload with the satellite. Under the agreement, Intelsat is expected to operate the ADF payload and provide related services for 15 years after the launch.

Intelsat 22 will be positioned at 72 degree east longitude providing a footprint described as being “well suited to the communications needs  of the Australian military”.

The satellite will be built by Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems and will be based on the Boeing 702B bus and will have 48 C band and 24 Ku band equivalent transponders, and a UHF payload of eighteen 25 KHz channels.

The UHF band is widely deployed for military satellite communications because of its adaptability to small mobile terminals used by ground, sea and air forces. The ADF is purchasing part of the UHF payload and has the option to purchase the remainder.

”We are honoured that the Commonwealth of Australia chose Intelsat as its partner for this creative program” said David McGlade, CEO of Intelsat. “This contract represents a milestone in the development of hosted payloads to support long-term government needs. As this ADF program demonstrates, every commercial satellite going into orbit creates opportunities for governments to deploy mission critical capabilities, with significant cost benefits and quicker time to in-orbit operations”.

The ADF selected Intelsat to provide the satellite payload following a process of competitive source selection that began in August 2008.