2020-04-01
Lockheed Martin to Develop SATCOM Payload
The U.S. Space Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) at Los Angeles Air Force Base awarded Lockheed Martin a US$240 million contract to develop a prototype payload for its new Protected Tactical SATCOM (PTS) system.
PTS is a next-generation capability connecting warfighters with more jam-resistant satellite communications (SATCOM). The complete system will deploy a constellation of dedicated geostationary satellites, commercially hosted payloads, and coalition partner satellites integrated through a ground control network to provide U.S. and coalition forces protected communications.
SMC’s acquisition begins with a rapid prototyping phase for a new mission payload hosting the Protected Tactical Waveform (PTW). The fully-processed payloads will ensure adaptive, anti-jamming communications channels are available to allied forces in a contested environment.
SMC is leveraging Other Transaction Authority (OTA) contracting mechanisms rather than a traditional Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)-based acquisition for prototyping to provide agile development, “E.P.I.C. Speed,” and an avenue for non-traditional participation. E.P.I.C. Speed is SMC’s acronym for Enterprise, Partnership, Innovation, Culture and Speed.
Lockheed Martin launched the first commercial protected communications payload on Hellas Sat-4/SaudiGeoSat-1 (HS-4/SGS-1) in 2019, featuring one of the most advanced digital signal processor and protected communications algorithms available.
PTS continues Lockheed Martin’s legacy of developing resilient protected communications for the military that includes both the Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) and the MILSTAR systems.
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