Space Force Plans Exclusive Boeing Contract With a Ceiling of $945.9 Million
Key Facts
The U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command plans to award Boeing an exclusive contract to support satellite communications, with an estimated ceiling of up to $945.9 million, according to a government notice whose details were reported by GovCon Wire. The notice describes an intent to award the contract and does not mean the final award has been made. The value covers the base period and the extension option if the government exercises it. The proposed work includes engineering, operational and cybersecurity support, maintenance and upgrades for the WGS and UFO systems and components of the ground control system. The sole-source award comes as the Space Systems Command says the government lacks sufficient rights to the data and software needed to put the work out for competition.
The contract is structured as an IDIQ, meaning its value is a ceiling on possible orders rather than a fully guaranteed amount. The five-year base ordering period is valued at $480.6 million. The sole option adds a 10-year ordering period valued at $465.3 million. Reaching the total ceiling therefore depends on the exercise of the option and the work orders the government issues during the two periods. The structure gives the military service a long-term framework for buying sustainment services, while leaving part of the term and value subject to its decision.
The Space Systems Command says Boeing is the original manufacturer of the WGS and UFO satellites and key components of the ground control system. But the justification for a sole-source award goes beyond its status as the manufacturer: according to the notice, the government lacks sufficient license rights to technical data packages and source code for flight software and high-fidelity satellite simulators. The command said those rights are insufficient to conduct a competitive procurement. The report says the required data was developed at private expense and that Boeing repeatedly rejected government requests to sell rights to use it. These restrictions tie other contractors’ ability to perform maintenance and testing to their access to the underlying technical and software materials.
The work includes round-the-clock fault analysis, isolation and service restoration for the WGS and UFO systems, along with factory engineering support and monitoring of telemetry trends. It also covers orbit analysis, maneuver planning, collision avoidance and satellite disposal at the end of operational life. On the ground, the work includes engineering and software maintenance for the GSCCE system, as well as flight software, the satellite simulator and operational databases. The tasks indicate that the contract combines support for satellites in orbit with continued operation of the ground systems and software that manage them. The Space Systems Command said carrying out the work through another contractor without Boeing’s data could lead to “significant cost duplication, delays and unacceptable risks to on-orbit assets.”
The Space Systems Command said government market research concluded that Boeing was the only contractor able to meet the requirements without service interruption. This is linked to the importance of sustaining WGS operations, which the Space Force describes as the backbone of its wideband military communications capabilities. The system provides high-capacity global communications for U.S. government agencies, the Department of Defense, international partners and NATO. According to GovCon Wire, 10 WGS satellites were launched between 2007 and 2019 to serve U.S. forces, allied militaries and NATO. A Space Force fact sheet says each WGS satellite provides communications capacity equivalent to 10 times that of a DSCS III satellite.
The proposed contract comes as new spacecraft move into the operational maintenance baseline, including WGS-11, WGS-12 and the Protected Tactical Communications prototype payload. WGS-12 is not expected to launch before 2028 and will carry that payload, according to the report. The Space Force said the new satellite will provide twice the operational capacity of earlier satellites in the system. Boeing announced in March 2024 that it had won a $439.6 million contract to build WGS-12. The expected launch date, together with the introduction of the new spacecraft and payloads, forms part of the transition plan covered by the proposed sustainment scope.
Previous EL7 coverage reported a separate $2 billion Boeing contract to design and build two satellites for the MUOS system, announced in June 2026. For the current contract, an earlier sources-sought notice on SAM.gov said the government expected the ordering period to run from January 1, 2027, to December 31, 2036. The notice said the previous WOOLR contract for WGS support was scheduled to end on December 31, 2026. These dates place the transition to future sustainment work within a window spanning the end of the previous contract and the start of the expected ordering period. The total value of the new contract remains a proposed ceiling tied to the base period and option, not confirmed revenue for the company.