The Space Force’s Space Systems Command (SSC) has awarded Northrop Grumman [NOC] a $398 million firm-fixed price contract to develop and build an Enhanced Protected Tactical Satellite Communications-Prototype (PTS-P) for launch in fiscal 2030 or later, SSC said on Friday.
In 2021, Northrop Grumman and Boeing won contracts for the baseline anti-jam PTS-P, but launches, which were to start in 2024, have yet to begin.
Enhanced PTS-P is an added Middle Tier of Acquisition rapid prototyping effort to provide “incremental capability” and accelerate “initial operational capability-like delivery by two years with purpose-built ‘hub in space’ satellites utilizing full signal processing and switching capability allowing direct connectivity between users,” according to the Space Force.
“The prototype is designed to improve satellite communications performance in the presence of jamming through advanced antennas and space-based processing of the Protected Tactical Waveform, or PTW,” SSC said on May 15.
PTS is the follow-on to Lockheed Martin’s [LMT] Advanced Extremely High Frequency communications satellite constellation. The program includes PTS-P, PTS-Global (PTS-G), and PTS-Resilient (PTS-R) payloads.
“Lower complexity” PTS-G geosynchronous orbit satellites in Ka-band and X-band are to fill a gap between the “more focused” PTS-R and the “broadly-available but also the lower assured access capabilities provided by existing/emerging milsatcom and commercial services,” the Space Force has said.
Last July, SSC said that it had awarded up to $4 billion in PTS-G development contracts to Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Viasat, Astranis, and Intelsat General — the U.S. division of Luxembourg’s SES .
Last year, the Space Force decided to delay the start of PTS-R engineering and manufacturing development until fiscal 2028 and to accelerate PTS-P as an interim toward fielding PTS-R.
The service requested about $449 million for PTS in fiscal 2027, including $150 million for PTS-G.
