The U.S. Space Force military continues to advance satellite communications modernization, and this week it awarded contracts for the first global protected tactical constellation. The United States Space Force’s Acting Portfolio Acquisition Executive, Satellite Communications & Positioning, Navigation, and Timing, awarded two contracts totaling $437.7 million for the production of the Protected Tactical Satellite Communications – Global (PTS-G).
It is the program’s first satellites that can provide anti-jam satellite communications to counter emerging threats and ensure connectivity in denied environments.
The contracts were issued to Viasat Inc. and Intelsat General Communications LLC for the first two operational satellites of the PTS-G system, known as “Swarm 1,” which includes manufacturing, integration and test, launch, and on-orbit checkout. Plans call for the satellites to be launched in 2028, with a second production round for additional satellites to begin later, with launches aimed for 2031.
Distributed Swarm Architecture
The distributed “swarm” architecture could allow for multiple smaller satellites to handle the coverage in the satellite constellation so that a single failure won’t cripple an entire region. PTS-G, which is a key component of the United States Space Force’s resilient satellite communications (SATCOM) architecture, was designed to provide tactical warfighters with a worldwide, transponded system, leveraging both Protected Tactical Waveform (PTW) and non-PTW waveforms.
That will enable critical communication on legacy wideband users while also deploying PTW to provide anti-jam satellite communications to counter emerging threats and ensure connectivity in denied and contested environments.
In addition, PTS-G can help the Space Force bridge the existing gap between highly mission-focused military satellites and more widely available, yet typically less secure commercial systems.
“PTS-G is a pivotal element of the Space Force’s strategy to deliver a more resilient and capable satellite communications architecture,” explained Erin Carper, acting portfolio acquisition executive for Satellite Communications & Positioning, Navigation, and Timing. “By leveraging commercial innovation and a novel competitive approach, Space Systems Command is accelerating the delivery of critical worldwide, anti-jam capabilities to the warfighter, ensuring they can operate effectively in the face of determined adversaries.”
The Swarm 1 will operate in geosynchronous orbit, where it can deliver critical capability to existing military SATCOM capacity and enhance operational flexibility for combatant commanders.
“The system features a transponded design that utilizes dedicated military Ka-band and X-band payloads,” the Space System Command acknowledged. “It also provides comprehensive backward compatibility with legacy Tactical SATCOM systems, ensuring PTS-G will provide critical worldwide communications to existing wideband users while establishing a cost-effective path to modernizing the force.”
Swarm 1 Acquisition Transformation
The Space Force’s approach for Swarm 1 “exemplifies” its acquisition transformation, where it will leverage a competitive strategy with commercial partners to accelerate delivery of capabilities. At the same time, the goal is to drive down long-term costs. It further underscores Space Systems Command’s overarching mission to deliver space capabilities that ensure U.S. space superiority and deter aggression in the space domain.
“These awards represent a significant step forward in Space Systems Command’s commitment to acquisition transformation,” said Lt. Col. Richard Lanser, acting system program director for Tactical SATCOM at SSC’s System Delta 88
“PTS-G’s acquisition approach leverages commercial industry and technologies to revitalize the defense industrial base, maximize flexibility and foster enduring competition to ensure long-term affordability,” added Lanser. “These innovations allow the Space Force to outpace emerging threats and deliver the resilient space capabilities our warfighters need at the speed of relevance.”
The new $437.7 million contract follows another nearly $400 million award to Northrop Grumman last month for the Space Force’s Enhanced Protected Tactical SATCOM-Prototype program, which Air & Space Forces magazine noted was another element of the PTS Family of Systems. The spacecraft, which is on track to see a 2030 launch, also features advanced anti-jam and data processing capabilities.
Last July, the Space Force’s Space Systems Command awarded a protected Tactical Satellite Communications (SATCOM) – Global (PTS-G) Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract and initial five Firm Fixed Price orders under Delivery Order 1 (DO1) totaling $37.5 million to Viasat, Inc., Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation, Astranis Space Technologies Corp, Intelsat General Communications LLC, and Boeing.
