Space System Command’s Contract Award Kicks Off FORGE C2 Missile Warning System Development

Ball Aerospace, Parsons, General Dynamics and Omni Federal have been awarded contracts for Phase 1 of the Space Systems Command’s Future Operationally Resilient Ground Evolution Command and Control project. 

The contracts, valued at $9.75 million per company, were awarded via the SSC’s Space Enterprise Consortium, according to consortium manager NSTXL. The Phase 1 awards are under the SpEC Other Transaction Authority, wherein the four companies will develop the FORGE C2 prototype competitively over 16 months. 

The prototype will serve as the cornerstone of a government-owned, cyber-secure Modular Open Systems Approach for a missile warning satellite command and control system, NSTXL said. 

The ultimate goal of the multi-phase project is the development, integration and delivery of a consolidated Missile Warning C2 system, with such features as mission management and telemetry tracking, NSTXL added.  

It also said that the project will leverage other missile warning assets, including the Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared and the Space-Based Infrared Systems. The subsequent Phase 2 of FORGE C2 will support the initial launch of Next-Gen Polar scheduled for 2028.

According to Mike Malinowski, SpEC director, the use of the OTA contract platform opened access to innovative technology otherwise unavailable through traditional contracting methods. FORGE C2 demonstrates “how OTAs are evolving the landscape of government contracting,” he said.