Transport Layer Tranche 2 “will provide global communications access and deliver persistent regional encrypted connectivity in support of warfighter missions around the globe,” said SDA.
Space Development Agency issues new solicitation for 100 satellites
These satellites will be part of a mesh network known as Transport Layer Tranche 2.
WASHINGTON — The Space Development Agency on June 28 released a final request for proposals for its next procurement of 100 satellites as the agency continues to build out a military constellation in low Earth orbit.These 100 satellites, named Alpha, will be part of a mesh network known as Transport Layer Tranche 2.
- The Transport Layer Tranche 2 also includes 72 Beta satellites for which SDA already has requested bids.
The procurement of 100 Alpha satellites will be split between two vendors. SDA issued a draft solicitation in May. The final proposals are due July 28.
Each Alpha satellite will have at least three, or up to four optical communications terminals, a Ka-band and a Link 16 payload. These satellites also will be equipped with on-board command-and-control data processors and autonomous navigation payloads.
Transport Layer Tranche 2 “will provide global communications access and deliver persistent regional encrypted connectivity in support of warfighter missions around the globe,” said SDA.
SDA, an organization under the U.S. Space Force, is building a layered network of military satellites. The Transport Layer will serve as a tactical network to move data to users around the world, communicating classified data such as early warnings of missile launches.
The overall constellation, which SDA calls the proliferated warfighter space architecture, includes a Transport Layer of interconnected communications satellites and a Tracking Layer of missile-detection and warning sensor satellites.
Transport Layer Tranche 2 to launch in 2026
- The agency already has acquired satellites for Tranche 0 and Tranche 1 of the Transport Layer and the Tracking Layer.
- The first launch of Tranche 0 satellites took place in April and a second Tranche 0 launch is targeted for late July.
- Tranche 1 is projected to launch in 2024 and Tranche 2 in 2026.
The proliferated constellation is made up of small satellites supplied by multiple vendors, all interconnected via optical laser links.
The Transport Layer Tranche 2 will be SDA’s largest procurement to date.
SDA said Tranche 2, when deployed, will add enough nodes to the network to provide global coverage for U.S. military users.
Related
Air Force awards Raytheon $625 million contract for nuclear-hardened satcom terminals
The contract is for FAB-T terminals that will fly on B-52 strategic bombers and RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft
The 11-year contract, announced June 28, is for production of FAB-T terminals used to connect strategic bombers and reconnaissance aircraft with classified military communications satellites.
This was a sole-source contract to Raytheon. The company since 2014 has been the Air Force’s primary contractor for FAB-T, short for Family of Advanced Beyond Line-of-Sight Terminals.
The new contract is for production and logistics support of an unspecified number of FAB-T terminals that will fly on U.S. Air Force B-52 strategic bombers and RC-135 Rivet Joint reconnaissance aircraft.
Development contract in 2020
The Air Force is seeking to update decades-old B-52 bomber and RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft satcom terminals — designed to connect with legacy Milstar (Military Strategic and Tactical Relay) satellites — to the newer AEHF constellation.
The B-52 and RC-135 are critical nodes in the U.S. nuclear command, control, and communications (NC3) architecture. During a nuclear war, these strategic aircraft have to be able to receive orders from national command authorities.
Program under scrutiny
A February 2023 report the Space Force’s senior acquisition executive Frank Calvelli submitted to Congress notes that FAB-T is more than a decade behind schedule.
“The original FAB-T contractor failed to develop a suitable technical solution, resulting in over a decade of schedule delays against the original schedule baseline,” said the report. “As a result, in 2014 the program office re-competed the contract and awarded a new contract to a different vendor.”
Boeing was the FAB-T prime contractor before the Air Force opted to go with Raytheon.
Calvelli’s report said there were a number of issues that contributed to FAB-T’s problems, including “the original contractor inability to develop a suitable technical solution, government deficiency in selecting a contractor with the requisite skill set to develop the solution, integration delays due to aircraft platform availability, and operational test delays resulting from government’s lack of timely acquisition of relevant threat testing assets.”
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