WASHINGTON — The U.S.-based subsidiary of satellite operator SES has been renamed to reflect the company’s focus on the national security market.
SES Government Solutions, based in Reston, Virginia, will begin operating under the new name SES Space & Defense effective Dec. 8, the company announced.
The renaming follows SES’ recent $450 million acquisition of DRS Global Enterprise Solutions, a business unit of defense contractor Leonardo DRS, which provided satellite communications services to the Defense Department, and other military and intelligence agencies.
“The SES Space & Defense brand reflects the organization’s new positioning and expanded offering serving the needs of the U.S. government customers,” the company said in a statement.
SES Space & Defense has two business units: Space Initiatives and Defense Networks. Space Initiatives offers services from SES’s own satellite fleet and infrastructure. The Defense Networks unit, like DRS GES, is an integrator that provides managed services from multiple satellite operators.
The former head of DRS GES David Fields is now president and CEO of SES Space & Defense.
SES, headquartered in Luxembourg, operates a commercial fleet of more than 70 geosynchronous and medium Earth orbit satellites.
The company is preparing for the 2023 launch of its first Boeing-built O3b mPower broadband satellites. The U.S. military is expected to be a key customer of the planned constellation of 11 O3b mPower satellites in medium-Earth orbit.
