Unmatched Expertise Powers Protected Military Communications in Space.
Protected Military Satellite Communications
Mission Mastery Means Mission Delivered
Northrop Grumman Military Satellite Communication (MILSATCOM) solutions are built on a legacy of more than four decades of mission experience. Our cutting-edge, ever-evolving technology is derived from a deep understanding of both the threat environment and the needs of the warfighter.
Protected Tactical SATCOM (PTS)
Northrop Grumman’s Protected Tactical SATCOM Rapid Prototype (PTS-RP) is purpose built to deliver seamless, real-time connectivity to the warfighter, even in the face of the world’s most sophisticated jamming threats.
Built on seven generations of assured, protected, anti-jam satellite communications mission heritage, Northrop Grumman’s PTS solution autonomously and instantly detects and nulls enemy jammers through a combination of advanced on-board processing and expertly configured antenna arrays. The system then delivers each user a tailor-made, dependable comms pathway capable of fighting through determined attempts at disruption.
Evolved Strategic SATCOM (ESS)
Assured strategic satellite communications is at the foundation of deterrence. This is the one mission where, no matter what, the data must get through. Northrop Grumman is the industry leader in Strategic SATCOM technology, with a proven legacy of delivering systems built to survive in the most extreme threat environments. We know what it takes deliver a no-fail capability.
Northrop Grumman leveraged four decades of mission experience derived from on-orbit operations to develop an ESS Rapid Prototype in close partnership with Space Systems Command, completing a capstone technology demonstration in December 2023.
Enhanced Polar System – Recapitalization (EPS-R)
Northrop Grumman is the prime contractor for Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission (ASBM). ASBM is a groundbreaking partnership between U.S. Space Force, Space Norway, and Northrop Grumman featuring the first operational U.S. military payload hosted on an international satellite mission.
Launched in August 2024, Northrop Grumman's EPS-R payload ensures secure, protected and jam-resistant military satellite communications in the high north, while offering a substantial boost in capability over the legacy Enhanced Polar System (EPS) payload still operating on orbit today.
EPS-R is also the first protected MILSATCOM payload sharing a commercial-grade bus (GEOStar-3) with commercial payloads, an achievement made possible by a Northrop Grumman-developed hosted payload interface that completely isolates EPS-R from the rest of the satellite. See the GEOStar-3 Datasheet.
For EPS-R's ground system, known as the Enhanced Polar System Control and Planning Segment, Northrop Grumman created a common software baseline to operate both the lEPS and the ESP-R payloads, saving the expense of running separate ground systems for the same mission.
Proliferated Space Systems
To find out more about how Northrop Grumman is defining possible in low-Earth orbit, navigate to our Proliferated Space Systems page.
