With Intelsat buy, SES targets European defense market
SES's American arm, SES Space & Defense, was awarded a five-year "Sustainment Tactical Network (STN) contract" to provide the US Army with satellite communications services.
SES's American arm, SES Space & Defense, was awarded a five-year "Sustainment Tactical Network (STN) contract" to provide the US Army with satellite communications services.
The Army is convinced that there are benefits to be had from moving to a SATCOM-as-a-service model, including rapid response to battlefield needs and access to the very latest tech.
Space industry analyst Todd Harrison said the $3.1 billion purchase is latest in a "shakeup" in the satellite communications landscape following the proliferation of LEO birds.
The COMSPOC study included a look at risks from unannounced rendezvous and proximity operations — such as those being routinely performed by the Russian "inspector" satellite Luch/Olymp that have raised hackles at the Defense Department — and the risks to US military satellites cause by mis-plotting the trajectories of adversary birds.
The plan is designed not just to improve Luxembourg's military space capabilities, but also specifically to improve defense cooperation with the US by "jointly exploiting" the new SES satellites.