WASHINGTON — SES Space & Defense, the U.S. arm of Luxembourg-based satellite operator SES, announced July 24 it secured a $3.6 million contract to provide satellite communication services to the U.S. Army.
The contract is part of a pilot program initiated by the Army in September to explore “satcom as a managed service,” a departure from traditional military contracts for satellite capacity. Under this model, SES will deliver comprehensive services including satellite capacity, ground infrastructure, and network management.
The Army’s Program Executive Office for Command, Control, Communications-Tactical (PEO C3T) last year announced the selection of SES and Intelsat for this pilot that aims to inform future procurements, potentially leading to broader adoption of the managed service approach.
The contract’s value, previously undisclosed when the Army announced the selection of SES and Intelsat for the pilot in September, has now been revealed as $3.6 million.
David Fields, president and CEO of SES Space & Defense, said the program is a “great opportunity for SES Space & Defense to continue to support our Army customers leveraging a true multi-orbit strategy and multi-band satellite fleet.”
SES, which operates a fleet of over 70 satellites in geostationary and medium Earth orbits, under the pilot program will support military combatant commands across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific regions.
Satcom as a managed service is a shift from the Army’s usual approach to acquiring commercial satellite communications, from self-managed infrastructure to a more streamlined, provider-managed model.