June 25: Boeing won a US Space Force contract worth as much as $2 billion to develop and build two new military communications satellites, beating incumbent Lockheed Martin Corp. and handing the company’s troubled space unit a rare boost.
The award covers the next phase of the Mobile User Objective System Service Life Extension, or MUOS SLE, a programme designed to keep secure narrowband communications available to American and allied forces. The first satellite is scheduled for delivery in 2031, with launches expected no earlier than 2031 and 2032.
MUOS is the US military’s main narrowband satellite communications network, often described as a mobile phone network in space. It connects troops, ships and aircraft through satellites in geostationary orbit, allowing users with relatively small terminals to communicate far beyond the reach of ground networks.
The system relies on ultra-high frequency, or UHF, signals that can perform better in difficult terrain, urban areas and severe weather, where other communications links may be disrupted.
“We’re grateful for the trust the US Space Force has placed in our team,” said Sam Greaves, vice president of Boeing Space Mission Systems. He said the priority for users was secure communication that worked in demanding conditions.
The win is notable because Lockheed Martin built every satellite in the current MUOS constellation. The first MUOS satellite launched in 2012, and the network now comprises four operational satellites and an on-orbit spare. Boeing developed and delivered the payloads for that earlier fleet, giving it a role in the programme despite not serving as prime contractor.
The two companies had competed head-to-head for roughly two years. The Space Force launched the service life extension effort after responsibility for MUOS moved from Navy oversight into the military space enterprise, with formal transfer to the Space Force in 2023. The two new spacecraft are expected to keep the constellation in service until 2035, five years beyond its current life expectancy.
Boeing plans to build the satellites on its 702MP medium-class platform. The company said its active production line for that spacecraft class would bring momentum and schedule predictability to the work. Boeing has delivered multiple 702MP satellites since the final quarter of 2025.
“When military users are operating in the most demanding conditions, this narrowband capability is their lifeline,” said Ryan Reid, senior director of space communications programmes at Boeing.
The contract arrives as the US Space Force weighs a longer-term shift in how it handles narrowband communications. Since mid-2023, the service has been developing a strategy that could move some or all of that mission to commercial providers. Commercial satellite services have expanded quickly in recent years, though military officials have continued to treat narrowband communications as an area where dedicated government systems remain important.
Funding for the programme is set to grow. The Space Force’s fiscal 2026 budget includes $415 million in research and development for MUOS, alongside almost $50 million in procurement. The fiscal 2027 request rises to $856 million in research and development, reaching a total of $2.6 billion through 2031.
The current MUOS satellites carry both a legacy payload, which keeps them compatible with older military terminals still in use, and a more modern Wideband CDMA payload that gives users access to higher bandwidth. The two new Boeing spacecraft are expected to extend the newer capability, rather than preserve the older legacy payload.
The US Navy remains one of the largest users of the system, reflecting MUOS’s origins as a Navy-led programme before it became part of the Space Force’s communications portfolio.
For Boeing, the deal offers welcome stability for a defence and space division that has absorbed heavy losses in recent years across fixed-price programmes. A multi-billion-dollar award built on an existing production line gives the unit predictable work well into the next decade, at a time when the company is trying to steady its wider performance.
The next stage of the programme will involve detailed design, production and on-orbit testing before the first satellite reaches space. The Space Force has said the new spacecraft are intended to prevent a gap in coverage as the existing fleet approaches the end of its service life.
