SMART-T and satellite terminal

WASHINGTON: In a surprise move, the Army has chosen Peraton as sole provider of the Satellite Ground Terminal (SGT) Prototype, intended to improve access to data from intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) satellites as part of the Army’s push toward Multi-Domain Operations (MDO).

“To be frank, we expected multiple vendors to be selected, and we are very pleased that the Army is looking to Peraton to develop this critical prototype,” Brian Wagner, director of strategic communications for Virginia-based Peraton, told Breaking D today.

SGT is expected to transfer up to 1,000 times more satellite data to operators than currently possible, according to Peraton’s announcement this morning. Its development is one of several foundational components of the service’s high priority Tactical Intelligence Targeting Access Node (TITAN) program that, in turn, is a cornerstone of the Army’s ambitious plans for MDO command and control and battle management.

Sydney J. Freedberg Jr. graphic from Army data

New Army Long-Range Precision Precision Fires will require satellites to spot targets far out of range of traditional Army recon. SOURCE: US Army. SLRC and Hypersonic Missile ranges as reported in Army Times.

TITAN, which supports the Army’s Big-Six priority Long Range Precision Fires, is envisioned as a “scalable and expeditionary intelligence ground station.” But it won’t just take data from satellites, as would a traditional ground station. It will link with space, high altitude, aerial and terrestrial ISR sensors to provide targeting data directly to Army fires networks.

Under the award, which supports the Army’s Tactical Exploitation of National Capabilities (TENCAP) program, Peraton is to develop a fully-tested prototype to the Army within 20 months. The Army budgeted $35 million in fiscal 2020 for TENCAP.

That first SGT prototype would be followed by more prototypes, according to Peraton, which could then lead to low-rate production as part of the Army’s modernization efforts.

“The initial prototype is worth several million,” Wagner said, “and puts us on a path to develop more prototypes and eventually launch a significant production line.”

Interestingly, Peraton’s contract was awarded by the Air Force Space and Missile Center (SMC) Space Enterprise Consortium (SpEC) under Other Transaction Authority (OTA). Breaking D readers may recall that during the Air Force Association annual September shindig, SMC’s commander Lt. Gen. John Thompson revealed that the Air Force is now offering use of the SpEC contracting process to other defense agencies and services.

This contract marks the first (public, anyway) use of SpEC by the Army.

It may also be a signal that the Air Force is intrigued by the SGT effort, as it seeks technologies to underpin its own efforts at multi-domain command and control — although the Air Force and other services are now transitioning to the term Joint All Domain Command and Control (JADC2).

Indeed, Wagner noted that Peraton is also aware that “other service branches are tracking the SGT prototype process as they begin to make their own plans for the future.”