WASHINGTON - The U.S. Space Force has awarded contracts worth a combined $437.6 million to Viasat Inc. and Intelsat General Communications LLC for the first operational satellites of the Protected Tactical SATCOM-Global (PTS-G) program, a next-generation military communications architecture designed to provide resilient, anti-jam satellite communications for warfighters worldwide.
The firm-fixed-price contracts cover production of the program's first two satellites, known collectively as Swarm 1, including spacecraft manufacturing, integration and testing, launch, and on-orbit checkout. The awards were announced by the Space Force's acting portfolio acquisition executive for Satellite Communications and Positioning, Navigation, and Timing.
PTS-G is intended to strengthen the service's broader resilient satellite communications architecture by combining commercial innovation with military-protected communications capabilities. The system is designed to support both legacy wideband users and newer Protected Tactical Waveform (PTW) users, providing secure communications in contested and denied environments.
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"PTS-G is a pivotal element of the Space Force's strategy to deliver a more resilient and capable satellite communications architecture," said Erin Carper, acting portfolio acquisition executive for Satellite Communications and Positioning, Navigation, and Timing. "By leveraging commercial innovation and a novel competitive approach, Space Systems Command is accelerating the delivery of critical worldwide, anti-jam capabilities to the warfighter."
Ka- and X-band
The satellites will operate in geosynchronous orbit and employ dedicated military Ka-band and X-band payloads. The transponded architecture is designed to maintain compatibility with existing tactical satellite communications systems while enabling deployment of the Protected Tactical Waveform, an anti-jam communications technology intended to preserve connectivity against electronic attack and other threats.
The program represents a hybrid approach that combines commercial satellite manufacturing and operations practices with military-protected communications payloads. The architecture aims to increase resiliency by adding protected communications capacity while maintaining interoperability with current tactical SATCOM users.
According to the Space Force, the system's backward-compatible design allows existing wideband satellite communications users to continue operating while providing a pathway toward more advanced protected communications capabilities. PTW support is intended to improve resistance to jamming and interference, helping maintain command-and-control connectivity during military operations in contested electromagnetic environments.
Lt. Col. Richard Lanser, acting system program director for Tactical SATCOM at Space Systems Command's System Delta 88, said the awards reflect the service's effort to increase competition and leverage commercial technologies in space acquisition programs.
The PTS-G program is part of the Space Force's ongoing effort to modernize military satellite communications and build a more resilient space architecture capable of supporting operations against near-peer adversaries. By employing a competitive acquisition strategy and commercial partners, the service hopes to accelerate capability delivery while reducing long-term program costs.
The Swarm 1 satellites are expected to provide worldwide tactical communications coverage and expand the military's protected satellite communications capacity as the Space Force continues to field its next-generation SATCOM architecture.
