US DoD awards Iridium a $1bn contract

The US Department of Defense through the US Air Force Space Command (AFSpC) has awarded Iridium Communications a AU$1.083 billion (US$738.5 million), seven-year, fixed-price contract to provide unlimited satellite services from its low-Earth orbit (LEO) constellation.

Through what is known as the AFSpC’s Enhanced Mobile Satellite Services (EMSS) program, Iridium will continue to deliver access to global secure and unsecure voice, broadcast, netted or Distributed Tactical Communications System (DTCS) and select other services for an unlimited number of DoD and associated DoD-approved subscribers.

Under the extant contract, the EMSS program has continuously increased its adoption and utilisation of Iridium services, while the capabilities delivered have evolved from simple telephony and data to broadcast, multicast and other IoT services.

Image courtesy Iridium Communications.