General Dynamics Missions Systems is expected to receive a contract for the PWSA’s Tranche 3 Transport Layer ground segment. Photo: GDMS

While the U.S. Space Force explores future communications options and plans to halt fiscal 2026 funding for the Space Development Agency’s (SDA) Tranche 3, Transport Layer Low-Earth Orbit satellites, the service said it is to move ahead with developing Tranche 3 ground systems for the Tracking Layer to counter advanced missiles.

Next February, Space Force plans to award an up to four-year, sole-source, cost-plus contract to General Dynamics‘ mission systems (GDMS) business for Tranche 3 ground segment development, according to a business notice this month. GDMS is based in Chantilly, Virginia.

“GDMS shall provide the systems engineering, development and deployment, and operations of ground segment capabilities sufficient to enable the T3 Tracking space vehicle mission capabilities and associated space vehicle performer ground system interfaces to be integrated and interoperable within the PWSA GS [Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture Ground Segment] architecture, and enable minimal SDA Custody Layer interface development to support mission status and health related activities within the PWSA GS,” the business notice said.

The Tranche 3 ground segment development “effort will leverage the existing platform/ framework; development, test, and operations environments; and mission applications developed under the current GDMS awarded PWSA Ground Management and Integration (GMI) contract, enabling development within the existing software baseline and the continuous integration continuous delivery/deployment pipeline,” according to the notice. “This iterative enhancement of the existing PWSA GS software baseline will ensure development and test resources are available at the appropriate maturity and timeline to support space and user segment needs and activities within an aggressive integration, test, and launch readiness campaign.”

Last September, GDMS said that SDA had awarded it a $491.6 million GMI contract for Tranche 2 to leverage work that GDMS and Iridium Communications Inc. [IRDM] had done under a $324.5 million contract for the Tranche 1 ground operations and integration segment.

Last month, Senate defense appropriators recommended reversing SDA’s requested zeroing of fiscal 2026 funds for the Tranche 3, Transport Layer (T3TL) and added $500 million for it.

“The capability and capacity of the Transport Layer must keep pace with the missile warning/missile tracking layer,” according to Senate defense appropriators. “A pause to the T3TL development will lead to a disconnect between the Tracking and Transport layers of the PWSA.”

This story was first published by Defense Daily