AST SpaceMobile lands $30M contract with US Defense Department
AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) said on Monday that it has entered into an agreement with the United Space Development Agency (SDA) for its Europa Track 2 Commercial Solutions program.
The agreement, which was made with SDA's Hybrid Acquisition for proliferated Low-earth Orbit (HALO) program, is worth up to $30 million.
As part of its contract with HALO, AST will utilize its BlueBird satellite constellation to demonstrate resilient, low-latency tactical satellite communications directly between government end devices. The focus is on developing rapid demonstration and delivery of innovative capabilities that can be used by warfighters in the American military.
The Europa Track 2 effort is aiming to deliver immediate, operationally relevant tactical communications capabilities. AST said that its space-based architecture enables high-bandwidth data transport directly from low Earth orbit through its software-defined “bent-pipe” structure, which differentiates it from traditional proprietary military satellite communications.
“Selection for SDA’s Europa Track 2 program validates AST SpaceMobile’s ability to rapidly operationalize commercial space capabilities for national security,” AST SpaceMobile CEO Chris Ivory said in a statement. “By leveraging our existing low Earth orbit (LEO) dual-use satellite technology, we support the Government’s defense efforts, delivering immediate connectivity with our BlueBird satellites and scaling quickly to advanced tactical use cases.”
AST said that it will conduct a series of on-orbit demonstrations as part of the program in order to validate seamless integration with existing tactical military radios. The effort is aimed at demonstrating how commercial satellite infrastructure can be rapidly applied for defense applications and deliver data products as-a-service to the SDA.
Shares of the company gained 4.6% on Monday following news of the contract. Its stock is up over 15% to start the year.
This is the second contract that AST has landed with the US Defense Department over the past month. In January, the company was awarded a contract for the US government's Missile Defense Agency Scalable Homeland Innovative Enterprise Layered Defense (SHIELD) program.
Terms of the contract were not disclosed, but the company said the agreement "encompasses a broad range of work areas that allows for the rapid delivery of innovative capabilities to the warfighter with increased speed and agility."
The SHIELD program is part of President Trump's Golden Dome missile defense initiative, which is focused on building resilient and layered protection against air, missile, space, cyber, and hybrid threats from all operational domains.
AST noted at the time that winning the contract positioned it to compete for future government contracts related to Missile Defense Agency systems supporting US national security interests.
As for its latest contract, the company said the "award further solidifies AST SpaceMobile’s position as a trusted partner to the Department of War, demonstrating how commercial space innovation can be rapidly integrated into national security missions."
AST's growing portfolio with the Defense Department comes as it's struggling to keep pace with SpaceX’s Starlink direct-to-cell satellites on the commercial side of its business. AST has faced multiple delays in deploying its satellites, while Starlink is rapidly monetizing its business across the globe.
Both AST and Starlink are racing to build networks to service the more than two billion people across the globe who lack access to high-speed internet services.