USSF, BAE Systems reach deal on second phase of FORGE programme

The SBIRS GEO-2 satellite during encapsulation in the Atlas V fairing at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. (Jim Dowdall)

US Space Force (USSF) programme officials developing the Future Operationally Resilient Ground Evolution (FORGE) platform have teamed up with BAE Systems, to continue maturation of the system's command-and-control (C2) architecture.

USSF's Space Systems Command (SSC) inked the USD151 million deal with BAE Systems, which will cover phase two of FORGE C2 prototype development, according to a 3 March command statement. This work will “build upon the critical milestones achieved in Phase 1 … to deliver a prototype” system for eventual integration onto the Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared (Next-Gen OPIR) system.

BAE Systems was one of several companies that was selected by SSC to participate in the first phase of FORGE C2 prototype development. Other companies awarded phase one prototype deals included Ball Aerospace, Parsons, General Dynamics, and Omni Federal.

The funding for phase two of the FORGE C2 prototype development deal was a joint other transaction authority (OTA) contract between the command's Space Enterprise Consortium (SpEC) programme and the National Security Technology Accelerator (NXTL), command officials said in the 3 March statement.

Designed to meet the ground station requirement for Next-Gen OPIR, the FORGE platform will provide “a modular, extensible, and cyber-hardened ground system” to support downlinked data from Next-Gen OPIR satellites, according to Pentagon budget documents.

Next‐Gen OPIR is designed to augment and eventually replace the air force's legacy, satellite-based early warning missile defence system, the Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) constellation.

Next-Gen OPIR satellites will operate at geosynchronous orbit (GEO) and will be equipped with advanced intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) sensor capabilities to address “adversary advances in missile technology and counter-space systems with added resiliency features”, budget documents stated.