SES Space & Defense Secures AFRL Contract for Military Satellite Communications Experimentation Support

The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory has awarded SES Space & Defense a multi-year contract to support the Defense Experimentation Using Commercial Space Internet program. The DEUCSI program establishes communications with military platforms through commercial internet constellations in different orbits.

SES Space & Defense will demonstrate multi-orbit, multi-band solutions that can switch among commercial space broadband services in different frequencies. The company will use common hardware elements to communicate with commercial space broadband constellations and military communications systems.

Work will ensure that the military has access to space-based communications constellations on all occasions and give the military greater communications flexibility, SES Space & Defense said Tuesday.

The award comes after SES Space & Defense won a five-year, $27.54 million U.S. Army contract in late April to provide satellite communications capabilities for Warfighter Information Network-Tactical training activities. Under the Army contract, SES was tasked to support training activities under the Army Network Enterprise Technology Command and the Army Forces Command, ensuring that warfighters are ready to respond to future missions.

The Army contract also ensures that the service can develop and test new satellite applications for mobile operations.