WASHINGTON — Boeing is aiming for two upcoming major satellite purchases from the U.S. Space Force, using its recent contracts for Wideband Global Satcom (WGS) satellites and its position in commercial spacecraft production.
The Space Force is expected to request offers next year for highly specialized, jam-resistant satellite systems that the military considers as crucial assets, meaning that they must provide secure communications even in the most contested environments.
“The government is seeking mature and low-risk technologies,” said Michelle Parker, vice president for space mission systems at Boeing Defense, Space & Security.
The company is preparing to compete for these Space Force satellite purchases by adjusting commercial technology for military use, Parker said in a recent interview. SpaceNews “It’s a very exciting time in military satcom,” she said.
The first program on Boeing’s radar is the Protected Tactical Satcom, or PTS, a future group of encrypted communications satellites. The other is the Evolved Strategic Satcom program, also known as ESS, to develop a network of nuclear-survivable satellites to facilitate communications during a conflict.
The Space Force is examining two PTS prototype payload designs, one by Boeing and the other by Northrop Grumman, that could launch for in-orbit demonstrations in 2025. Boeing plans to launch its PTS prototype payload on the WGS-11 satellite it is producing under a $605 million contract awarded in 2019. Northrop Grumman’s PTS payload will fly on a dedicated spacecraft.
After the demonstrations, the Space Force will request offers for the production of PTS payloads. Congress approved $233 million for the program in fiscal year 2024, and the Pentagon requested $597 million for PTS in 2025. Strategic satellite communications. The second major satcom procurement planned by the Space Force is ESS, short for Evolved Strategic Satcom, a crucial part of the U.S. military’s nuclear command, control, and communications (NC3) network that provides nuclear-survivable connectivity. Boeing and Northrop Grumman.
were selected in 2020 to design ESS satellite prototypes. These satellites are intended to augment and eventually replace the
Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF)
network of nuclear-hardened satellites made by Lockheed Martin.
Congress appropriated $505 million for ESS in 2024, and DoD is requesting $1 billion for the program in fiscal year 2025. The Space Force is expected to seek offers this year for further developed ESS prototypes. In these military programs, Parker said, Boeing is leveraging its “integrated payload array” that was used for WGS-11, the recently awarded $439 million WGS-12 commercial O3b satellites
built for global satcom operator SES. “It’s evolved a bit for military use, but it’s the same digitally engineered technology and the same investments that we’ve made on the technology as well as the manufacturing to automate the process,” she said..
One benefit of the digital payload, Parker added, is that users can electronically and simultaneously steer thousands of individual beams so communications can be assured in contested environments. The beam technology used in military satellites, she noted, is designed to prevent jamming and interference. Parker mentioned that Boeing is currently working on the eighth version of its integrated payload array. and the The company aims at two multibillion-dollar satellite communication programs for the U.S. Space Force. built for global satcom operator SES.
“It’s evolved a bit for military use, but it’s the same digitally engineered technology and the same investments that we’ve made on the technology as well as the manufacturing to automate the process,” she said.
One benefit of the digital payload, Parker added, is that users can electronically and simultaneously steer thousands of individual beams so communications can be assured in contested environments. The beam technology used in military satellites, she noted, is designed to prevent jamming and interference.
Parker said Boeing is currently developing the eighth generation of its integrated payload array.
