The NATO Support and Procurement Agency has tapped satellite operator SES to deliver secure communications services under the Medium Earth Orbit Global Services program.
The contract, the first in the Global Commercially Contracted Satellite Communications Support Partnership between the NSPA, the United States and Luxembourg, will deliver air, naval and ground communications capabilities to improve the two nations’ disaster response and overall resiliency.
SES will provide the requirement using the O3b mPOWER constellation, a second-generation MEO constellation offering interoperability, flexibility and government control. Under the deal, the two countries can build their network of sovereign gateways and customized services. They can also request mPOWER terminals, managed service packages and life cycle services, among other items.
Adel Al-Saleh, CEO at SES, highlighted the importance of the contract in accelerating the deployment of secure satcom capabilities.
“We developed O3b mPOWER with the government’s mission-critical connectivity needs in mind and have also been working closely with the NATO nations to make sure that they get the necessary performance, reliability, security and control from day one,” he said.