DULLES, Va. – July 30, 2025 – Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) received an Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract and an initial Delivery Order for the rapid design of U.S. Space Force (USSF) Space System Command’s (SSC) Protected Tactical SATCOM-Global (PTS-G) program, which will provide worldwide assured-access communications for tactical fighters.
- PTS-G is part of the USSF’s new acquisition approach for resilient wideband communications capability, Protected Tactical SATCOM (PTS) Family of Systems (FoS).
- Northrop Grumman’s PTS-G design will leverage 30-plus years of experience in commercial and protected military satellite communications to create a technically advanced, commercially viable solution of GEOStar-3 satellites, providing secure X-band and military Ka-band communications.
- Northrop Grumman’s PTS-G solution will provide a lower-cost, rapid and commercially acquired solution for SSC.
Expert:
“To maintain U.S. space superiority, we are combining digital engineering solutions with more than three decades of experience in commercial communications to help accelerate delivery of critical resilient wideband satellite communications to warfighters,” said Brandon White, vice president and general manager, Tactical Space Systems, Northrop Grumman.
Northrop
Grumman’s flight-proven GEOStar spacecraft has been used on over 50 missions to
date. (Photo Credit: Northrop Grumman)
Details on Program:
The new PTS-G constellation will augment the USSF’s existing satellite and ground systems for military satellite communications. In this initial delivery order, Northrop Grumman will complete the initial design work for the system, followed by a future delivery order for production of the first swarm. All design and manufacturing of PTS-G spacecraft would take place at Northrop Grumman’s campus in Dulles, Virginia.
Separately, Northrop Grumman is building the Protected Tactical Satcom Rapid Prototype (PTS-P) in partnership with SSC.
The PTS-P spacecraft is currently in integration and testing at Northrop Grumman’s facility in Gilbert, Arizona. The PTS-P payload will be integrated with an ESPAStar-HP bus and a next-generation digital processing subsystem.
Northrop Grumman is a leading global aerospace and defense technology company. Our pioneering solutions equip our customers with the capabilities they need to connect and protect the world, and push the boundaries of human exploration across the universe. Driven by a shared purpose to solve our customers’ toughest problems, our employees define possible every day.
