Contract

CAPACITY ON A UHF-CAPABLE ON-ORBIT MEO SATELLITE

Agency: DEPT OF DEFENSE / DEPT OF THE AIR FORCE
Location: Albuquerque, NM
Amount: Amount not listed
Deadline: Closes in 23 days (Aug 10, 2026)
Posted: Jul 10, 2026
Set-aside: None (open competition)
NAICS code: 517410

What this contract is for

This Request for Information (RFI) is focused on obtaining access to bandwidth carried by a commercially owned, commercially operated UHF-capable on-orbit MEO satellite for use in a near-term experimental campaign to: Characterize spectrum, waveform, and user equipment operation with a MEO UHF system Demonstrate interoperability between a potential future MEO UHF system and the existing GEO constellation Inform a time-sequenced pathway to augment or replace the GEO UHF system with a MEO capability The offeror should consider technology solutions that prioritize existing space vehicle, payload and communications link capabilities to provide on-orbit service immediately or as soon as possible. An Initial Launch Capability (ILC) by 2030 is potentially useful, but innovative approaches leading to earlier on-orbit capability are strongly desired. The Government recognizes that this initial prototype may not be fully representative of a final, future architecture, but rather represents an initial step to explore providing UHF services from MEO. Refer to the attachment entitled "pMEO Demo Request for Information_FINAL 10 Jul 26".

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