U.S. Space Force Selects Boeing for $2.8B Secure Strategic Communications Program
U.S. Space Force Selects Boeing for $2.8B Secure Strategic Communications Program
Published:
July 4, 2025
/
Updated:
July 4, 2025
Breaking News
Editorial Team
U.S. Air Force photo
The U.S. Space Force has selected Boeing to build the first two satellites of the Evolved Strategic SATCOM program, issuing a $2.8 billion fixed-price-incentive contract that includes options for two more spacecraft. The decision, announced late July 3, positions the company to deliver the future backbone of nuclear command-and-control communications well into the 2030s.
Boeing won after a four-year head-to-head prototyping phase with Northrop Grumman. According to industry sources, evaluators focused on on-orbit survivability, cyber-hardness, and schedule realism. Space Systems Command confirmed the award and said the program will move straight into detailed design and early hardware procurement.
Contract terms:
Two satellites on a Boeing 702X bus, hardened for nuclear survivability
Option for two additional vehicles exercised on performance milestones
Fixed-price structure with incentive fees tied to on-orbit availability
Period of performance through FY-33, first launch targeted for late 2031
Total ceiling across all four spacecraft: $6 billion, part of a $12 billion ESS portfolio
Defense officials confirm that ESS replaces the six-satellite Advanced Extremely High Frequency constellation, whose final spacecraft launched in 2020. AEHF still meets today’s needs, but the threat picture is changing. Near-peer rivals now field ground-based lasers, co-orbital interceptors, and sophisticated cyber intrusion tactics. Our analysis shows the legacy architecture lacks margin against these threats once the mid-2030s arrive.
What ESS brings that AEHF cannot:
Flexible frequency plan supporting wideband anti-jam links
Completely encrypted telemetry and command channels
Laser cross-links to reduce reliance on ground gateways
Modular payload sections for rapid tech insertion
On-board AI routines that re-route traffic around damage
Each satellite weighs roughly 10 metric tons at launch, yet the payload uses digital beamforming to steer narrow, high-power spot beams without large gimballed antennas. Program engineers say the shift halves reaction time when a jammer appears and triples available throughput under high solar activity.
Schedule discipline sits at the heart of SSC’s plan. By February 2026 Boeing must clear the critical design review and freeze the hardware baseline. Environmental testing for Space Vehicle 1 starts in mid-2028, with launch readiness targeted for November 2031. Space Vehicle 2 follows twelve months later. Options for Vehicles 3 and 4 trigger once the first pair reaches early-orbit checkout and meets availability metrics for six consecutive months.
The contract also includes an Arctic-coverage payload hosted on Vehicle 3 if the option is exercised. That sensor package would close a known gap above 65° north, supporting U.S. Strategic Command and Northern Command bombers that now rely on less-protected links when operating near the pole.
For Boeing, ESS extends a resurgence in military satellite work after several commercial setbacks. The company plans to assemble the buses in El Segundo, California, and integrate the payloads at a dedicated high-bay in Mesa, Arizona. Executives say about 65 percent of subcontracted content will come from small- and medium-size suppliers, many brought in during the demo phase to shorten lead times on crypto components and radiation-hardened processors.
Northrop Grumman, the losing bidder, is still under contract to deliver its two prototype vehicles. One will convert into a pathfinder for Space Force integration testing; the other may fly as a technology demonstrator if Congress funds a launch slot. Several lawmakers have already asked the service to “preserve competition” for the option satellites, though SSC leaders stressed the current award covers all four.
The ESS decision came the same day Space Force canceled the Protected Tactical SATCOM-Resilient (PTS-R) procurement. Service officials said the program’s wideband anti-jam goals remain valid but will now roll into a new family-of-systems approach that emphasizes smaller, faster increments. They cited cost growth and shifting threat timelines for the change.
Space Force satellite communications roadmap, 2025-2035:
Evolved Strategic SATCOM (ESS): nuclear-survivable, worldwide coverage
Protected Tactical Waveform (PTW): software upgrade to field radios
Protected Tactical SATCOM-Global: wideband capacity layers on GEO and MEO platforms
Enterprise Management & Control: network orchestration across diverse constellations
Air Force-Army Anti-Jam Modem: common user terminal for tactical operators
Program managers argue that trimming PTS-R frees manpower for ESS and PTW while keeping enough flexibility to pivot toward proliferated LEO if budgets tighten. The shift also aligns with Deputy Secretary of Defense guidance to “buy smaller, buy faster,” reducing single-node risk.
Boeing’s schedule relies on SpaceX Falcon Heavy for the first launch, but launch-vehicle choice remains an option exercise. United Launch Alliance is certified for follow-ons, and the contracting office built in price-adjustment language to cope with evolving demand on heavy-lift services. A dual-launch concept was evaluated but rejected because spreading two 10-tonne payloads across one rocket would push structural margins.
From an industrial-base angle, ESS taps the same radiation-hardened processor line that feeds NASA’s Gateway modules. Keeping that production warm helps vendors avoid another low-rate dip like the one seen after AEHF 6. Defense officials confirm that cross-program synergies shaved roughly 7 percent off non-recurring engineering costs.
Cyber resilience drove several technical requirements. Each satellite hosts an independent “cyber cell” processor that monitors traffic, isolates anomalies, and can re-image compromised subsystems in under five minutes without ground intervention. This concept grew out of Space Force’s Hack-A-Sat challenges, and Boeing embedded red-team engineers in its cleanroom during integration tests.
In the policy arena ESS underpins the nation’s Nuclear Command, Control and Communications (NC3) modernization roadmap. The current Milstar and AEHF links are certified for secure emergency-action messages, yet they rely on ground nodes that sit inside the continental United States. ESS introduces direct broadcast to mobile airborne command posts, reducing time to reach regional commanders. Analysts at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments estimate that cutting even one minute from message delivery raises overall deterrence credibility.
International cooperation remains limited. Allied nations that use AEHF terminals, such as the United Kingdom, Canada, the Netherlands, and Australia, can request access to ESS on a reimbursable basis, but none are partners in the development contract. Defense officials said the door stays open for hosted payloads on option satellites, noting that Arctic users might share bandwidth costs for the polar package.
Congress took its first look at ESS funding last month when the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense marked the FY-26 request. Lawmakers left the topline intact but directed quarterly software-integration reports and added language prohibiting production of a fifth satellite before a new analysis of alternatives. Senate authorizers attached a similar reporting requirement focused on cyber-test progress.
On the engineering side, Boeing is using a “digital first” pipeline. The entire vehicle exists in a common model, from board-level schematics to orbital mechanics. Factory tooling picks up those models to drive automated drilling, which cuts panel build time by 33 percent. The company used the approach on Wideband Global SATCOM-11 and says it saved 15,000 labor hours.
Launch processing at Cape Canaveral will mirror that digital thread. Simulated propellant loads and separation events feed into a real-time dashboard accessible to SSC quality engineers. If anomalies pop up, the data path lets technicians trace back to procure-to-pay records in minutes instead of days.
Looking ahead, the program office plans an on-orbit demonstration of laser cross-links using an auxiliary payload scheduled to ride on Space Vehicle 2. If successful, the capability could migrate to other constellations and form a backbone for secure transport of quantum-encrypted keys.
Boeing Vice President Kay Sears said the company “designed an innovative system that keeps strategic lines open under any circumstances.” Defense-Aerospace analysis notes that the words mark a shift from marketing language to operational focus. The contract’s built-in on-ramp for tech refresh suggests ESS will not repeat the long gaps seen between AEHF blocks.
Funding stability remains the biggest risk. ESS competes with Ground Moving Target Indicator radar in the Air Force and maritime deterrence recapitalization in the Navy. Budget trade-offs will intensify after FY-29 when booster procurement peaks. Still, bipartisan lawmakers rank nuclear-survivable communications as a must-pay bill.
Space Systems Command now turns to milestone B documentation, expected in October. A source familiar with the schedule said about 80 percent of the required artifacts are complete thanks to the earlier prototype phase. That head start could prevent the long pauses that plagued past strategic programs.
In short, ESS moves from concept to committed program with a clear schedule, fixed incentives, and a tight link to NC3 needs. If Boeing hits its dates, the first satellite will be on station before the oldest AEHF vehicle exhausts station-keeping fuel. The decision opens a new chapter in protected communications – and closes the door on a four-year competition that defined Space Force’s acquisition culture.
REFERENCE SOURCES
https://www.airforce-technology.com/news/boeing-ussf-ess-space-vehicles/
https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/boeing-secures-28-billion-us-strategic-satellite-contract-2025-07-03/
https://www.ssc.spaceforce.mil/Newsroom/Article-Display/Article/4235257/space-systems-command-awards-28b-contract-to-deliver-the-first-two-satellites-f
https://www.defensenews.com/space/2025/07/03/space-force-picks-boeing-for-28b-strategic-communications-program/
https://boeing.mediaroom.com/news-releases-statements?item=131563
https://www.ssc.spaceforce.mil/Newsroom/Article-Display/Article/4234599/ssc-accelerating-protected-tactical-satcom-capability
The post U.S. Space Force Selects Boeing for $2.8B Secure Strategic Communications Program appeared first on defense-aerospace.
The U.S. Space Force has selected Boeing to build the first two satellites of the Evolved Strategic SATCOM program, issuing a $2.8 billion fixed-price-incentive contract that includes options for two more spacecraft. The decision, announced late July 3, positions the company to deliver the future backbone of nuclear command-and-control communications well into the 2030s.
The post U.S. Space Force Selects Boeing for $2.8B Secure Strategic Communications Program appeared first on defense-aerospace.
