Intelsat has announced an expansion of its April 2009 agreement for UHF hosted payload services with the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The ADF exercised its option to purchase the remainder of the specialized UHF communications payload that Intelsat is integrating within its Intelsat 22 satellite, scheduled for launch in the first quarter of 2012.

This announcement follows the historic Memorandum of Understanding signing between the Commonwealth of Australia and the United States, under the terms of which UHF communications resources will be shared between the two countries.

"Our growing partnership with the ADF is an example of the long-term capabilities that can be provided by commercial satellite operators to government and military users. As a result of our direct partnership with the ADF, we are building a payload that will serve the ADF's growing communication requirements for the next two decades," said Don Brown, Vice President for Hosted Payload Programs at Intelsat General Corp., an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Intelsat.

"This agreement extends Intelsat's ongoing commitment to the Australian government and exemplifies the powerful tool that hosted payloads offer government users for SATCOM augmentation."

The Intelsat 22 satellite, which will be positioned at 72 degrees East longitude, will provide optimal coverage for growing opportunities for enterprise networks, mobility and defense-related applications.