SDA Awards Northrop $732M Contract for Tranche 2 Transport Layer Satellites

Northrop Grumman announced that it has secured a potential $732 million contract from the Space Development Agency to design and build Tranche 2 Transport Layer-Alpha satellites.

Northrop will provide 38 data transport satellites, as well as ground elements and five years of operations and sustainment, slated for launch in December 2026. The Transport Layer, a component of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture, is designed to provide low-latency, high-volume connectivity for U.S. military missions.

Blake Bullock, vice president of communication systems at Northrop, said the company will use its expertise in military satellite communications to meet the SDA’s requirements.

The award adds to other SDA contracts for the PWSA, Northrop said.

In August, Northrop won a $733 million SDA contract to build T2TL-Beta satellites. According to the company, its T2TL-Beta spacecraft features new broadcast and tactical communications capabilities and will be an update to the Tranche 1 Transport Layer and Tranche 1 Tracking Layer satellite models.

Lockheed Martin also received an $816 million contract to build T2TL-Beta satellites.