[SatNews] The U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center announced has awarded two contracts totaling $788,000 as a result of a Broad Agency Announcement released in June 2010.

The BAA, officially designated "SMC-32, Broad Agency Announcement: MILSATCOM Commercial Architecture Options," will study the feasibility of using minimally modified commercial satellite communication products and capabilities to meet future MILSATCOM requirements operating in military frequencies. These studies will inform an upcoming Joint Space Communications Layer Materiel Solutions Analysis phase, which is likely to begin in CY2011. The MSA phase of DoD acquisition seeks to assess the broad spectrum of candidate solutions to meet Initial Capabilities Document requirements validated by the Joint Requirements Oversight Council. The JROC approved the JSCL ICD in September 2010, and the DoD is preparing to evaluate the range of options to meet future warfighting communications needs. These MILSATCOM Commercial Architecture Options studies will complement SMC's on-going feasibility studies to develop the future DoD SATCOM architecture. The importance of these BAA studies is not only towards what set of MILSATCOM requirements can be met by minimally modified commercial systems, but also what are the range of feasible "commercial-like" acquisition approaches that are suitable to procure such a system. Toward this end, the BAA studies will assess the application of innovative and feasible commercial-like acquisition approaches to enhance affordability, reduce delivery time, and expand the space industrial base. SMC has negotiated two, 4 - 6-month study contracts with Hughes Network Systems and U.S. Space LLC.