The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has chosen BAE Systems to lead a team of 10 companies in the next development phases of the Novel Satellite Communications (NSC) program, BAE announced Jan. 16.

NSC is intended to protect satellite uplink signals against jamming using advanced signal processing techniques. The Phase 3 contract is valued at $10.3 million, options worth up to an additional $4.3 million.