SES Space & Defense Awarded U.S. Air Force Air Combat Command Contract to Support Airborne Operation

SES Space & Defense will provide end-to-end Ku-band satellite managed service to support the Air Combat Command remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) training and testing program

Reston, Va., 31 July 2024 – SES Space & Defense, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SES, has been awarded a multi-year contract worth USD 46.8 million by the U.S. Air Force (USAF) Air Combat Command (ACC) to provide Geostationary (GEO) Ku-band satellite services in support of the ACC remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) training and testing program. 

SES Space & Defense will use SES’s GEO high-throughput satellite (HTS) fleet to provide ground-to-air and air-to-ground transmissions coverage over the continental United States (CONUS), Hawaii, Alaska, and the Pacific Ocean for airborne operations. In addition, SES Space & Defense’s Global Network Operations Center (GNOSC) will provide network management and monitoring support.

“This is SES Space & Defense’s third contract iteration for the remotely piloted aircraft training and testing program, and it continues to be a great privilege serving the U.S. Air Forces’ Air Combat Command’s mission,” said SES Space & Defense President & CEO David Fields. “We look forward to continue delivering superior performance leveraging our GEO HTS in support of this effort.”