What Happened
US Space Force Awards Deal for Next-Gen Strategic Comms Software
The US Space Force has awarded Sphinx Defense a $287 million contract to develop ground software for the next generation of military satellite communications. The software will support the Evolved Strategic Satellite Communications (ESS) program, which aims to provide secure and highly jam-resistant communications for US national leaders. Boeing is developing the ESS satellites to replace the current Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) strategic communications system. The contract was awarded through the Space Enterprise Consortium using an Other Transaction Authority (OTA), according to SpaceNews.