Building on a procurement agreement SES entered into in 2018 with the Defense Information Systems Agency of the U.S. Department of Defense, this collaboration is providing broadband satellite services, gateway services, terminals, technical support, installation services, ground transportation and training.

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David Fields, president and CEO of SES Space & Defense, emphasized that this agreement demonstrates the U.S. Department of Defense's continued commitment to MEO as a key partner in providing commercial satellite communications.

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SES will provide these capabilities to the US government through its subsidiary SES Space & Defense (Reston, Virginia).

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The U.S. Department of Defense has long been a SES O3b constellation customer. SES recently launched its satellites, promising a tenfold increase in throughput compared to their predecessors. However, the initial four satellites encountered electrical issues, significantly impacting their operational life and broadband capacity, as reported by SES last month.

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SES's interim CEO, Ruy Pinto, emphasized the necessity of achieving the anticipated performance from the next-gen MEO constellation. To address this, will be constructed two additional O3b mPower satellites beyond the original plan, alongside ongoing upgrades for five others, enhancing the overall capabilities of the constellation.

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_{Author: Nessa, Cyber Journalist}

_{Source: https://spacenews.com/dod-signs-270-million-agreement-to-acquire-ses-satellite-communications-services/}

_{Photo: WikiImages/Pixabay}