Viasat a global leader in satellite communications, announced it was awarded a prime contract by the U.S. Space Force\u2019s (USSF)\u00a0Space Systems Command (SSC) to build, launch and deliver the first of a proliferated fleet of small, maneuverable geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO) satellites under the Protected Tactical SATCOM-Global (PTS-G) program. The new Swarm 1 Delivery Order contract builds on Viasat\u2019s completion of the Delivery Order 1 (DO1) phase awarded in 2025, where the company successfully matured a system design for a resilient, low size, weight and power (SWaP) GEO satellite and associated ground architecture to dynamically support key hot spot service areas. The proposed satellite design and operational concept illustrate how Viasat is applying low-cost, high-performance dual-use technology to provide resilient connectivity for an increasingly contested tactical communications environment.<\/p>\n
The PTS-G program, which has an Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) ceiling value of $4B across program awardees, is a cornerstone of the USSF\u2019s strategy to use commercial baseline designs to deploy a proliferated constellation of agile GEO satellites to deliver secure, resilient, anti-jam communications and improve operational flexibility for warfighters worldwide. This prime contract reinforces Viasat\u2019s unique position as both an end-to-end satellite system manufacturer and operator for the USSF across a broad range of frequencies and expands its role as a partner for U.S. and global allies seeking advanced, dual-use space communication systems.<\/p>\n
Under this multi-year development award,\u00a0Viasat\u2019s Space and Mission Systems (SMS) team will produce and deliver a dual-band X\/Ka-band mini-GEO, maneuverable satellite, and provide ground stations and operations support. This Swarm 1 Delivery Order award also includes five years of operations and sustainment services for the satellite, inclusive of tracking, telemetry, and command (TT&C), satellite and network operations, and cybersecurity requirements.<\/p>\n
Viasat’s PTS-G mini-GEO satellite architecture will leverage cutting-edge technology already developed for the ViaSat-3 fleet, allowing for rapid, cost-effective deployment of high-performance and resilient satellite systems that adapt to evolving USSF mission requirements.<\/p>\n
\u201c<\/em>Viasat<\/em>\u00a0is pleased to continue our partnership with the U.S. Space Force as the PTS-G program moves into the production phase,\u201d said Craig Miller, President, Viasat Government.<\/strong> \u201cThis production award recognizes Viasat\u2019s technical and operational expertise designing and rapidly delivering resilient, and high-performance dual-use satellite solutions in a multi-orbit environment, as well as our deep understanding of USSF mission needs and how to effectively deliver secure communications for DoW and partner missions. We are excited to partner with the USSF on this foundational work supporting next-generation government space operations, and we look forward to accelerating the Space Force\u2019s vision for employing scalable, dual-use capabilities to create a more agile, cost-effective, and survivable SATCOM architecture.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n PTS-G is part of a broader transformation in how the USSF acquires and deploys satellite communications capabilities\u2014emphasizing speed, competition, and commercial technology integration to meet evolving threats. This transformation includes the USSF objective to deploy maneuverable GEO satellites, significantly improving the resilience and agility of military communications.<\/p>\n John Reeves, Vice President of Space and Mission Systems, Viasat Government, said:<\/strong> “Our team is motivated to continue this critical work supporting the USSF and DoW under the PTS-G program, and we are eager to transition our innovative design into production and delivery of a small, maneuverable GEO capability to support dynamic mission operations. Our flexible dual-band X\/Ka-band satellite is designed to enable critical DoW operations and mission outcomes \u2013 supporting global connectivity, increasing resilience and improving warfighters\u2019 ability to combat emerging threats.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n The Viasat SMS team is part of the company\u2019s Defense and Advanced Technologies segment. Viasat\u2019s production and delivery of the dual-band satellite system will support meeting initial operating capability no earlier than 2029.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Viasat a global leader in satellite communications, announced it was awarded a prime contract by the U.S. Space Force\u2019s (USSF)\u00a0Space Systems Command (SSC) to build, launch and deliver the first of a proliferated fleet of small, maneuverable geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO) satellites under the Protected Tactical SATCOM-Global (PTS-G) program. The new Swarm 1 Delivery Order […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2919,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[26,25,42,20],"class_list":["post-2869","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-ground","tag-launch","tag-satcom","tag-satellite"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2869"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2869"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2869\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2916,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2869\/revisions\/2916"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2919"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2869"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2869"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2869"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}