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Boeing has landed the Evolved Strategic Satcom (ESS) program, the U.S. Space Force said, as the service also cancels the Protected Tactical Satcom (PTS)-Resilient program in restructuring aspects of that anti-jam wideband satellite communications initiative.
The Pentagon late July 3 said Boeing secured a $2.8 billion contract for development and production of the ESS program. The contract covers two satellites with options for two more to achieve an initial operational capability, the Space Force’s Space Systems Command (SSC) said.
Securing the ESS development and production contract marks an important win for Boeing’s defense and space boss Steve Parker as he focuses the company’s space strategy on national security efforts. Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin were the other two contractors to secure ESS prototyping contracts in 2020.
ESS is due to provide the U.S. military secure, jam-resistant nuclear command, control and communications satcom, along with a modernized ground control system. The program is slated to encompass multiple spacecraft operating in geosynchronous and highly elliptical orbits. They are eventually due to replace the service’s six Advanced Extremely High Frequency satellites currently stationed in GEO.
The program is a centerpiece of the Space Force’s push to overhaul its high-end satcom architecture.
Space Systems Command said that the initial four satellites are slated to be delivered under a cost reimbursement contract, with additional spacecraft planned under the larger $12 billion ESS Space Segment acquisition to achieve full operational capability.
Boeing said its bid built on technology work for the Wideband Global Satcom WGS-11 and WGS-12 spacecraft and the O3b mPOWER systems. “We scaled our production capacity, invested in our team, hired cleared talent, and assembled hot production lines to make sure that we can hit the ground running from day one,” Michelle Parker, vice president of Boeing Space Mission Systems, said in a statement.
The award comes in parallel with the Space Force’s decision to abandon the “Resilient” part of the PTS program. The move comes as the service launches what it calls the PTS Family of Systems that aims to deliver anti-jam capability faster, building on existing prototype technology.
“We have initiated a new approach to bound cost and technical risk while rapidly delivering incremental capability,” Cordell DeLaPena, Jr., Space Force Program Executive Officer for Military Communications and Positioning, Navigation, and Timing, said in a statement.
The goal is to lean more heavily on prototype satellites due for launch next year to bring Protected Tactical Waveform (PTW) anti-jam capability into user hands faster, the service said. The waveform is designed to be more resilient in the face of jamming attempts.
“Opportunities to make incremental improvements to two existing prototypes will be investigated,” the command noted.
The Space Force “remains committed to fully meeting the requirements of the Anti-Jam capability with PTW onboard processing in the future,” DeLaPena said.
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