Illustration of a MUOS satellite. Credit: Lockheed Martin
WASHINGTON — Boeing won a contract worth up to $2 billion to build two next-generation military communications satellites for the U.S. Space Force, prevailing over Lockheed Martin in a competition to extend the life of one of the Pentagon’s most heavily used satellite networks.
The contract covers the design, development, production and testing of two satellites for the Mobile User Objective System, or MUOS, the military’s primary narrowband communications constellation. The satellites are to be delivered by 2035, according to a June 23 contract announcement.
Lockheed Martin built all five satellites currently operating in the MUOS constellation. Boeing and Lockheed Martin had been competing head-to-head under the Space Force’s MUOS Service Life Extension program, which was launched after the service assumed responsibility for the network from the Navy in 2023.
MUOS connects troops, ships, aircraft and special operations forces through a network of satellites in geostationary orbit. Often described as a cellphone network in space, the system allows users equipped with relatively small terminals to communicate far beyond the reach of terrestrial networks.
