Space Force extends Kratos’ contract for satellite ground systems

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has received an eight-year extension to a contract it has held since 2002 for technical services in support of U.S. military communications satellites’ ground systems. The company, based in San Diego, California, was awarded an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract worth up to $579 million, the U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command said Nov. 22. The contract is for a program named C-SAR, short for Command-and-Control System-Consolidated Sustainment and Resiliency. The new agreement with Kratos runs through November 2031. The company will maintain and develop satellite ground systems for the U.S. Space Force and U.S. Space Command. The satellites covered under the contract include the Defense Satellite Communications System (DSCS) III, the Milstar Satellite Communications System, the Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF), and the Wideband Global Satellite Communications (WGS) systems. The Command-and-Control System-Consolidated system provides “planning, processing and information assurance measures,” the Space Systems Command said. It is designed to interface with existing constellations and also to support future satellites. As new constellations are deployed, Kratos will be responsible for information technology infrastructure upgrades.

Contract supports 26 satellites

Program director George Gonzales, of the Space Systems Command’s military communications satellite office, said the new contract with Kratos supports command-and-control operations of four constellations and 26 military communication satellites, “as well as the integration of new satellites and future constellations.”

According to a DoD contract announcement Nov. 6, the work will be performed at Schriever Space Force Base, Colorado; Vandenberg Space Force Base, California; and Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado. The C-SAR award was a competitive acquisition but only one offer was received.