In alignment with direction from the Secretary of the Air Force and Space Service Acquisition Executive, the Portfolio Acquisition Executive for Battle Management Command, Control, Communications and Space Intelligence, with support from the Satellite Communications Augmentation Resource program office, is implementing a commercial acquisition strategy that leverages multiple commercial solutions openings to evaluate and procure commercially available capabilities that support mission requirements.
The SCAR program is pursuing a phased, risk-informed approach designed to increase competition, broaden industry participation, and accelerate the evaluation of commercial solutions that can augment existing Department of War satellite command and control capabilities.
The strategy is organized across two primary lines of effort:
- Line of Effort 1: Evaluation and procurement of commercially available satellite communications solutions capable of supporting Satellite Control Network augmentation requirements.
- Line of Effort 2: Leasing commercially operated satellite communications services and infrastructure that can provide operational capability and capacity to augment existing architectures.
Through upcoming CSOs, the SCAR program will seek information and proposals from industry in several technical areas, including:
- Antenna and Radio Systems: Commercially available antenna and radio solutions that meet SCAR mission requirements. Candidate solutions may include parabolic antennas, phased array-fed reflector systems, phased array technologies, or other commercially available architectures that can support required mission performance.
- Commercial Service Delivery and Operations: Commercially operated capabilities, infrastructure, and support services necessary to provide an operationally available satellite communications capability under leasing arrangements.
- Sustainment and Life Cycle Support: Operations, maintenance, and support activities required to ensure continued service availability and mission performance.
The SCAR program is not focused on a single antenna architecture or technology approach. Instead, the program seeks to assess commercially available solutions that satisfy operational requirements, regardless of underlying technical implementation.
By using the CSO process, the PAE for BMC3I intends to engage both traditional defense contractors and non-traditional commercial providers, enabling the government to evaluate a wider range of mature commercial capabilities available in the marketplace.
Industry partners are encouraged to monitor official solicitation channels for future CSO announcements and participation opportunities. The current solicitation can be found here.
The primary objective of the SCAR program is to augment the Satellite Control Network, which provides the tracking, telemetry, and commanding capabilities required to support Department of War, National Security Space, and other U.S. government satellite operations.