SMC awards $1 billion in protected SATCOM contracts four months ahead of schedule

The Space and Missile Systems Center announced this week it has awarded Raytheon and L3Harris contracts worth up to $500 million each to develop and produce modems for its Protected Tactical Satellite Communications program.

The March 27 contract award was more than 120 days earlier than expected, SMC's Program Executive Officer for Space Development Col. Dennis Bythewood said in a March 30 press release. The Space Force teamed with the Army for the effort, dubbed the Air Force and Army Anti-Jam Modem (A3M) program, which supports Protected Tactical SATCOM, and will help improve anti-jam and communications capabilities for warfighters operating in contested environments.

"Not only did the A3M team complete this source selection and contract award via telework, they beat their plan by over 120 days, continuing SMC's commitment to epic speed," Bythewood said.

Raytheon's initial task order is worth $37.6 million and L3 Harris' award is for $30.6 million. The funds will cover design, development and testing of the first iteration of modems for the program.