SES Global said it awarded a contract to Lockheed Martin Commercial Satellite Systems to build the latest addition to the SES Americom fleet. The satellite, named Americom-18 (AMC-18) will be operated from 105 degrees West and will deliver cable programming throughout the United States. Lockheed Martin will build the A2100 spacecraft based on the ground spare initially developed in support of the AMC-10 and AMC-11 satellites that were launched in 2004.

AMC-18 will carry twenty four 36 MHz C-band transponders and will be used to provide cable television services to the 50 United States, Mexico and the Caribbean. AMC-18 is expected to provide more than 15 years of design life.

The company said Arianespace would launch the AMC-18 satellite in the second half of 2006. The satellite will be the fourteenth A2100 in the SES fleet. Financial terms of the manufacturing and launch contracts were not disclosed.