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AeroVironment [AVAV] last Friday said it has received a contract option from the Space Force to deliver two BADGER ground-based phase array antenna systems in support of Defense Department satellite communications.
The value of the order was not disclosed. AV won the potential $1.4 billion Satellite Communication Augmentation Resource (SCAR) Other Transaction Agreement (OTA) in 2022 (Defense Daily, May 24, 2022).
The BADGER systems support the SCAR program, which will provide non-fixed, electronically steerable phased array antennas to increase geosynchronous orbit communications’ capacity 10 times over the DoD Satellite Control Network’s 19 parabolic antennas. The Space Force Space Rapid Capabilities Office says it needs 12 SCAR antennas for global coverage.
AV said the firm-fixed price award is the first option against the SCAR OTA. The first unit will be delivered in the coming months and additional units will be ready for delivery in early 2026 for “full-scale overseas deployment,” it said. There are additional potential options and the company is accelerating production, AV added.
The Mission Support Container for the first system was delivered ahead of schedule over the summer and is ready for final integration testing, AV said, adding that most development milestones for the program have been completed.
