Viasat Secures Prime Space Force Satellite Contract
Viasat Inc (NASDAQ:VSAT) announced that it has been awarded a prime contract by the U.S. Space Force under the Protected Tactical SATCOM‑Global (PTS‑G) program. The award moves Viasat’s mini‑GEO dual X/Ka‑band satellite system into production for the Space Systems Command, with the company responsible for building, launching and delivering the first satellite in a planned fleet of small, maneuverable geosynchronous Earth‑orbit satellites for military communications.
The contract is structured as the multi‑year Swarm 1 Delivery Order. Under this order Viasat’s Space and Mission Systems team will produce and deliver a dual‑band X/Ka‑band mini‑GEO satellite, associated ground stations, and provide operations support. The support package includes five years of operations and sustainment services covering tracking, telemetry, command, satellite and network operations, and cybersecurity requirements.
The PTS‑G program carries an Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) ceiling value of $4 billion across all awardees, making this a significant component of the Space Force’s strategy to deploy a proliferated constellation of agile GEO satellites for secure, anti‑jam communications.
This award builds on Viasat’s earlier Delivery Order 1, granted in 2025, where the company developed a system design for a low size, weight and power GEO satellite and the corresponding ground architecture. The new satellite architecture will leverage technology previously developed for Viasat’s ViaSat‑3 fleet.
Viasat expects the production and delivery of the dual‑band satellite system to enable an initial operating capability no earlier than 2029.
Following the announcement, Viasat’s shares rose 1.7 % in pre‑market trading on Thursday.