U.S. Space Force awards satellite contracts worth $8.7 billion to Boeing and SpaceX

The U.S. Space Force has awarded Boeing a Mobile User Objective System Service Life Extension (MUOS SLE) contract valued at up to $2.2 billion. The award funds two additional narrow‑band UHF communications satellites, with the first slated for delivery in 2031, to extend the life of the existing MUOS constellation and increase capacity and performance for global military users.

Separately, the Space Force granted SpaceX two contracts totaling about $6.5 billion — $4.16 billion for an Airborne Moving Target Indicator (AMTI) satellite constellation and $2.29 billion for a Space Data Network that will serve as a communications backbone for missile‑defence and sensor data. Lawmakers have voiced concerns that consolidating such large procurements with a single supplier could hurt competition and the long‑term health of the U.S. space industrial base.