On June 11, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. announced that it was awarded a task order under the Command and Control System-Consolidated (CCS-C) Sustainment and Resiliency (C-SAR) contract with the U.S. Space Force (USSF) Space Systems Command (SSC) to support ground system capabilities for Evolved Strategic Satellite Communications (SATCOM) (ESS). The ESS system will provide the survivable and endurable satellite communications capability for the Nuclear Command, Control, and Communications (NC3) mission in all operational environments.
First, the task order will begin to lay the CCS-C infrastructure groundwork to eventually support an out-of-band (OOB) ESS telemetry, tracking, and command capability as part of the larger SSC Military Communications & Positioning, Navigation and Timing Program Executive Office (PEO) mission. Second, it will create the necessary infrastructure to link the ground system solutions as required for operations. Third, through a pair of study efforts, it will facilitate the development of a road map for implementation of ESS Mission Unique Software and CCS-C micro-services implementation. Finally, the effort will facilitate a prototyping effort to allow CCS-C users to utilize new enterprise architecture.
The task order has a contract value of $25 million with a 34-month period of performance, beginning 14 March 2025 and concluding on 30 November 2027. This was accomplished under the C-SAR single-award indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract awarded to Kratos on 15 November 2023. The C-SAR IDIQ contract has a maximum value of $579 million to cover task/delivery orders to support operations, sustainment, enhancements, and constellation capacity.
The C-SAR contract supports sustainment and operations of CCS-C which provides secure and integrated communications for Military SATCOM (MILSATCOM) requirements across Wideband and Strategic systems. CCS-C delivers OOB command and control (C2) for MILSATCOM systems currently including the Defense Satellite Communications System (DSCS), Milstar, Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS), and Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) satellites. CCS-C may eventually play a pivotal role in OOB C2 for the ESS constellation.
According to Phil Carrai, president of Kratos’ space, training and cybersecurity division, “One of the primary CCS-C infrastructure changes associated with this task order is the implementation of Kratos’ OpenSpace Platform to support the specified needs of the program. OpenSpace employs a modern, containerized and orchestrated architecture enabling the Space Force to select only the OpenSpace capabilities needed as missions evolve, providing a pathway for enterprise ground services for MILSATCOM constellations to effectively scale for future space vehicles while improving availability and resiliency.”
Source: Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc.
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