In December 2019, the U.S. Space Force (USSF) was established, creating the first new branch of the U.S. armed services in 73 years. USSF’s creation was driven by the quickly evolving space domain, which empowers the U.S. military to be faster, better connected, more informed, precise and lethal.
USSF primarily supports intelligence, surveillance, communications and navigation and continues to be affected by adversaries’ use of anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons and cybersecurity concerns. As the space domain has become vital to modern military operations, we are providing a look at the USSF competitive market to provide trends and observations so that you can better understand your potential competitors and teaming partners.
Top Space Force Competitors
Understand that the above figures are based on actual spending FY2020 – FY2024 vs. ceiling values.
Top Aerospace OEMs
U.S. Space Force’s top contractors include large aerospace original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and launch service provider such as Lockheed Martin, SpaceX, and United Launch Services who support contracts like the agency’s National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program, which launches the nation’s military satellites. In October 2024, USSF initiated the first ramp-on process to procure Lane 1 launch services as part of Phase 3 of NSSL, with an award expected by the spring of this year. This follows the June 2024 $5.6 billion awards to Blue Origin, SpaceX and United Launch Services to provide launch services as part of the NSSL Phase 3 Lane 1 program, facilitating the deployment of national security payloads to their intended orbits.
Lockheed Martin’s presence at the top of the list is also attributed to its development of the USSF’s Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared (OPIR) Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO) satellite, which has now advanced to system level testing at the company’s satellite manufacturing facility in Sunnyvale, CA.
Other large OEMs in this market include Boeing through its development of the next generation of Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) military satellites, which provide improved tactical communications capabilities on military networks; RTX’s modernization of the Global Position System (GPS) Next-Generation Operational Control System (OCX), which are the ground-based stations responsible for tracking, monitoring and updating the constellation of USSF satellites; and Northrop Grumman’s Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared (OPIR) polar-orbiting satellites (NGP), which are key in strategic missile warning.
Top Systems Integrators and Professional Services Businesses
Parsons is also a significant contractor within U.S. Space Force through their Launch Manifest Systems Integration (LMSI) contract, under which Parsons is prototyping and delivering multi-manifest small satellite payload integration solutions to space for U.S. government-owned and sponsored small satellite systems, and integrating payloads for U.S. Space Force missions. Parsons has also made investments in this domain through the Parsons Space Operations Center (PSOC) to address the demand for a commercial space approach to spacecraft operations and ground control to maximize affordability while delivering high-quality and responsive solutions.
General Dynamic Mission Systems (GDMS), a unit of General Dynamics, primarily gained its U.S. Space Force presence through the Ground Entry Points (GEP) development, under which GDMS is building the ground operations and integration segment for the Space Development Agency’s (SDA) Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA), a mesh network of satellites in low Earth orbit designed to support global military operations.
SAIC’s notable U.S. Space Force programs include the Digital Transformation, Acquisition, Modernization and Modification (DTAMM) contract where the company is supporting the modernization of space launch instrumentation for Space Systems Command (SSC) and Space Launch Deltas (SLD) 30 and 45 to enable a faster and more integrated launch environment. The company is also the prime contractor on the Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) System Engineering & Integration (SE&I) follow-on, under which SAIC is providing systems integration at external, inter-program, and intra-program levels. This includes systems engineering capabilities to support technical baseline management, assist in end-product systems integration for development programs, and standardize engineering processes and products across SSC’s PNT portfolios.
Rounding out our top competitor list is Booz Allen Hamilton, who is supporting systems engineering and integration of next-generation space-based missile warning, environmental monitoring and surveillance, reconnaissance, and tracking. The company is also supporting SSC in engineering resilient space sensing capabilities and integrating the Next Generation OPIR program leveraging Booz Allen’s strengths in digital engineering, agile software development, cybersecurity, and AI/ML.
The FedSavvy Strategies Takeaway
- Although U.S. Space Force was only formally established five years ago, the agency is a vital component of military operations due to the growing importance of the space domain.
- U.S. Space Force programs are currently well suited for larger OEMs like Lockheed Martin, SpaceX, United Launch, Boeing, RTX, Northrop Grumman and GDMS, as they have the engineering expertise and manufacturing and testing facilities required to support the agency’s programs, making them the top competitors within this market.
- Parsons is also a notable competitor in this space, supported by investments like the PSOC to bring commercial approaches to the federal government.
- More traditional systems integrators like SAIC and Booz Allen Hamilton are also seeing success in this space, primarily providing services in modernization and systems engineering and integration.
Stay tuned for the next USSF focused blog in late February 2025. In that blog we will switch to examine organizations in U.S. Space Force. Check our blog or subscribe to our newsletters so you never miss out on new content.
If you find yourself pursuing a U.S. Space Force contract and you could use some help understanding your competition, check out FedSavvy Battle Cards or contact us to discuss use of our Black Hat sessions to tune up your understanding of your competition.
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