Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman have validated the laser communications technology developed for the U.S. Air Force’s Transformational Satellite Communications (TSAT) program, the companies announced June 25.

The Lockheed Martin-Northrop Grumman team and a competing team led by Boeing are working under separate $514 million contracts for the TSAT program’s risk reduction and system definition phase.

The Air Force expects to award a development contract valued at up to $15 billion by the end of 2007. The award will cover design, development, and fielding of up to five satellites plus a spare as well as ground-based space vehicle command and control and the high data-rate ground communications gateway.