News Brief
US Moves To Cement Military Satellite Supremacy With Next-Gen Systems Designed To Resist Signal Attacks
Representative image of a satellite
The United States Space Force has selected five companies — Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Intelsat, Viasat, and Astranis — to develop a new line of tactical communications satellites designed to resist enemy jamming.
The announcement, made this week by the Space Force’s acquisition agency, Space Systems Command (SSC), marks the beginning of the Protected Tactical SATCOM-Global (PTS-G) programme.
A total of $37 million has been awarded for initial design and demonstration. However, the full contract is structured as an Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) agreement, with a ceiling of up to $4 billion.
The initiative is part of the broader Protected Tactical SATCOM Family of Systems, aimed at securing military communications in contested environments.
“By maximizing the use of commercially available products and awarding to a pool of offerors on this IDIQ contract, the Space Force ensures value for the DOD and taxpayer while driving competition and promoting the long-term viability of the SATCOM industrial base,” Cordell DeLaPena, the program executive officer for Tactical SATCOM, said.
The PTS-G programme, created in 2023, aims to launch a constellation of anti-jam satellites by 2028.
In a release earlier this month, the Space Force said the PTS-G will be deployed incrementally, with early capability expected to be available as soon as next year.
Each selected company is reportedly expected to carry out a technology demonstration within the next six months.
Those results will determine which companies receive contracts to build the full-scale production satellites.
The system will act as a bridge between existing commercial SATCOM services and next-generation, mission-specific platforms. Initial deployment will focus on strategic hubs, with the eventual goal of achieving global coverage.
A second round of production contracts is expected in 2028 for satellite launches planned for 2031.
