San Diego, CA-based Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. announced on May 4 that it had been awarded a sole-source contract for satellite bandwidth utilization services. The base year of the contract is valued at $3,061,221; if all four option years are exercised, the total value will be $19 million.
Kratos will provide continuous monitoring services of commercial satellites leased by the U.S. Space Force (USSF). Specifically, Kratos will provide 24×7 near-real-time performance monitoring data and bandwidth utilization assessment Radio Frequency (RF) monitoring services. RF data is the spectrum used by space systems to communicate with their ground systems. Kratos monitors the strength and characteristics of the signal, not the content. Bandwidth monitoring and utilization assessment and reporting services are required across all commercial satellites that are leased globally by the USSF.
Frank Backes, senior vice president of Kratos Federal Space Group, said, “The data collected from Kratos’ global sensor network will enable the U.S. Space Force to understand their usage of commercial satellite communications and inform future acquisition strategies.”
Kratos’ extensive network consists of global RF monitoring sites, hosting fixed and steerable sensors and antennas in L, S, C, X, and Ku bands. Kratos’ 24/7/365 Network Operations Center (NOC) is the central hub for monitoring and integrating raw RF data from its global sensor network. Advanced technologies developed by and exclusive to Kratos have been integrated into all levels of this cutting-edge infrastructure, from custom algorithms employed in the sensor network, to industry-leading commercial applications used in the NOC for data monitoring, correlation and geolocation, to specially-developed analytics that provide the real meaning behind the raw data. The RF bandwidth monitoring services are part of a portfolio of RF services offered to government and commercial customers including end-to-end satellite RF monitoring, interference detection, geolocation and mitigation.
Source: Kratos
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