Aerospace giants Boeing and Northrop Grumman have each been selected by the United States Space Force – the sixth and newest branch of the United States military – to develop prototypes for the space service’s Protected Tactical Satellite-Resilient (PTS-R) program. It would consist of a constellation of satellites designed to be resistant to cyber-attacks and jamming, which would ensure that U.S. military forces can maintain secure communications in contested environments.
That contract is expected to be awarded in December, and the service is currently seeking nearly $350 million for the PTS-R program in its fiscal year 2025 (FY25) budget request.
“The PTS-R System is the space segment of the Protected Anti-Jam Tactical SATCOM (PATS) enterprise, utilizing new, on-orbit payloads with onboard Protected Tactical Waveform (PTW) processing. The resultant contract will provide for two (2) space vehicles, associated ground equipment, launch processing, on orbit testing, and contractor operations,” a U.S. government notification announced.
It will also include options for engineering, manufacturing, production, and operations of two satellites, according to the Space System Command notice published last month. Boeing and Northrop Grumman are the only two companies that were able to meet the program’s requirements.
“It is likely that award to any other sources would result in substantial duplication of cost to the government that is not expected to be recovered through further competition and unacceptable delays,” the notice added.
According to a report from SpaceNews, the selection of Boeing and Northrop Grumman will not preclude other companies from other PTS-related programs.
Protecting America’s Satellites
As Breaking Defense reported last spring, the Program Tactical SATCOM (PATS) family of systems was first initiated in 2018 to take over the tactical mission of the current Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellites, which provide highly encrypted communications for both strategic and tactical needs. PATS will involve hosted payloads on commercial and U.S. military satellites – and over time, it will include software and hardware for both ground- and space-based systems that will employ encrypted signal developed by the Department of Defense (DoD). PTW will be used to stave off enemy jamming.
Space Systems Command had previously called for the rapid deployment of the new satellite communications (SATCOM) constellation also beginning in FY25, with a goal of initial operations starting in orbit in 2028. It was reported in March that the U.S. Space Force had requested nearly $248 million for the research, development, test and evaluation funding for the Program Tactical SATCOM-Global (PTS-G) part of the effort.
“PTS-G is a moderate degree of assured access communications across military Ka-band and X-band using a disaggregated and proliferated sets of lower-complexity satellites. Space Systems Command (SSC) will develop the PTS-G space and ground systems to provide worldwide assured-access communications for tactical warfighters,” a Space Force budget document explained, adding, “Initially, PTS-G will provide capabilities in select regions. PTS-G will target a solution that can provide worldwide coverage.”
The Coming Space Wars
It was just last month that the United States claimed that Russia had launched a satellite it believes could be capable of attacking other objects in orbit, including by jamming.
“Russia launched a satellite into low Earth orbit that we assess is likely a counter space weapon,” said Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, who further warned that Pentagon officials believed the satellite was in the same orbit as U.S. government satellites.
“Assessments further indicate characteristics resembling previously deployed counter space payloads, from 2019 and 2022,” Ryder added. “We have a responsibility to be ready to protect and defend, the domain, the space domain, and ensure continuous and uninterrupted support to the Joint and Combined Force.”
Boeing’s WGS Constellation
In March, Boeing was also awarded a a $439.6 million contract to build the 12th Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) communications satellite for the U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command. The WGS constellation delivers vital high-capacity, secure, and resilient communications capabilities to the U.S. military and its allies.
The WGS will utilize steerable, high-capacity beams that can provide connectivity via the Protected Tactical Enterprise Service (PTES) ground system and enhanced anti-jam communications by combining the U.S. military’s jam-resistant Protected Tactical Waveform with antenna nulling in the Ka- band.
According to Boeing, the anti-jam capability of its new Protected Tactical Satcom Prototype payload will be integrated on WGS-12, providing a second Protected Wideband Satellite to the U.S. military, while further expanding anti-jam tactical communications capacity for U.S. warfighters and allies to operate in multiple contested theaters.
Peter Suciu / Jun 5, 2024 Clearance Jobs