Roccor, a world leader in the rapid development of mission-critical satellite hardware, announced today that it has been awarded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase-2 contract by AFWERX to build a second-generation satellite communications antenna to support the U.S. Air Force’s resilient space mission.
According to Roccor’s commercial customer Viasat, the antenna will fly on a mission “intended to enhance warfighters’ situational awareness by extending the range of Link 16 tactical communications networks — using a constellation of these satellites will provide greater access to Link 16 capabilities in contested or congested environments (and) significantly enhancing mission effectiveness.” (Read more here.)
“We are proud to continue our work with AFWERX and Viasat to support a mission that ultimately keeps the peace and saves lives,” said Chris Pearson, CEO of Roccor. “Launching Link 16 communications capability on small satellite constellations will allow the U.S. military to ensure global connectivity of our fighting forces and provide for their safety while in harm’s way well into the future.”
Roccor’s Phase-2 SBIR contract follows Roccor’s recent string of successful small satellite antenna deployment demonstrations with L3Harris. Together, these programs are rapidly advancing the country’s military capability and preparedness in the global small satellite era. (Read more here.)
###
About AFWERX: Established in 2017 by the Secretary of the Air Force and reporting to the Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force, AFWERX is a catalyst for agile Air Force engagement across industry, academia and non-traditional contributors to create transformative opportunities and foster an Air Force culture of innovation. The ultimate aim is to solve problems and enhance the effectiveness of the Air Force. AFWERX enables thoughtful, deliberate, ground-up innovation across the Air Force. They do this through an innovation approach that combines startup urgency with the largest pool of motivated talent in the world to uncover opportunities to improve Air Force capabilities, connect and engage the right stakeholders, and facilitate outcomes.
About Roccor: Roccor was founded in 2012 and is based in Longmont, Colorado. It is a fast-growing, vibrant, high technology supplier into the aerospace and terrestrial military markets. Roccor’s novel designs address cost and performance limitations to revolutionize spaceflight and military operations. The company has contracts with NASA, the U.S. military, and commercial space companies all around the world and already has several deployable systems on orbit as of late 2018 and with numerous additional systems delivered and planned for launch in early- to mid-2020.
