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Agency Selects Initial Tranche 2 Team Members to Produce First of Several Variants of Data Relay and Tactical Communication Space Vehicles
The Space Development Agency (SDA) has awarded prototype agreements to Northrop Grumman Space Systems and Lockheed Martin Corp. with a total value of approximately .5 billion. The agreements are for the production and operation of the Tranche 2 Transport Layer (T2TL) – Beta variant prototype constellation, which will consist of 72 satellites.
The T2TL – Beta space vehicles will provide global communication access and deliver persistent global encrypted connectivity. They will support missions such as beyond line of sight targeting and missile warning and tracking of advanced missile threats. The constellation will be made up of three orbital planes, with each plane containing 12 satellites. The first plane is expected to be ready for launch by September 2026.
Derek Tournear, SDA director, stated that Tranche 2 brings global persistence for all capabilities in Tranche 1 and introduces advanced tactical data links and future proliferated missions. The Beta variant of the Tranche 2 Transport Layer vehicles integrates advanced tactical communication technology demonstrated by the Tranche 1 Development and Experimentation System (T1DES).
The proposals for the prototype agreements were evaluated by the SDA under the Other Transaction Authorities solicitation, SDA-PS-23-03. The Northrop Grumman Space Systems agreement has a total value of approximately 3 million, while the Lockheed Martin Corp. agreement has a total value of approximately 6 million.
The Tranche 2 Transport Layer (T2TL) consists of multiple space vehicle and mission configuration variants. It is part of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA), which provides multi-band global communications access and persistent encrypted connectivity for warfighter missions. The Transport Layer serves as the space backbone for the Joint All Domain Command and Control (JADC2) infrastructure, offering low-latency data transport, sensor-to-shooter connectivity, and tactical satellite communication (TACSATCOM) direct to the platform.
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