Northrop Grumman’s rendering of the Tranche 2 Transport Layer. Photo: Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman completed the preliminary design review for the 74 satellites it is building for the Space Development Agency’s Tranche 2 Beta and Tranche 2 Alpha configurations. 

Northrop Grumman is building 38 satellites for the Tranche 2 Transport Layer (T2TL)-Alpha constellation under a contract awarded in October 2023. These satellites are designed to transmit beyond line-of-sight Link 16 data to military forces from space. The Alpha satellites are a continuation of Northrop Grumman’s Tranche 1 Transport Layer satellites awarded in 2022.

The company is also building 36 satellites for the Beta configuration with advanced tactical communication technology under a contract awarded in August 2023. Northrop Grumman said the Tranche 2 Beta satellites incorporate new communications technologies including S-band, ultra high frequency satellite communications and integrated broadcast service. 

The Transport layer will provide low-latency data and communications for the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture satellite constellation. The second major line of effort in the PWSA is the Tracking layer, to detect and track hypersonic and ballistic missiles. 

Northrop Grumman has been awarded contracts for more than 130 PWSA satellites. The company is currently in the integration phase for its first generation Transport and Tracking layer satellites in California and the Airbus factory in Florida. 

Blake Bullock, vice president of Military Space Systems for Northrop Grumman, said in a news release that the company will now move into the detailed design for the Tranche 2 satellites. At the same time, Northrop Grumman is on track with executing the Tranche 1 offerings and looking at future opportunities for SDA programs. 

“Space Development Agency’s vision is to field critical capabilities at an extremely rapid pace, and Northrop Grumman continues to demonstrate that we are up to the challenge,” Bullock commented. “We are delivering on our commitments and are focused on helping SDA make the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture a success.”