Airbus U.S Space & Defence Inc. made a deal as a part of the Space Development Agency’s Phase One Space Transport Layer Prototype Suit Satellite Project with Northrop Grumman to provide them 42 satellite platforms as well as installation, integration and test (AIT), launch and spacecraft acceptance support services.

Transportation Layer; will serve as the spine of SDA’s National Defence Space Architecture, providing guaranteed, flexible, low-latency military data and connectivity to defence applications worldwide.

Airbus U.S. platform is derived from the proven ARROW platform with expanding satellite hull design, providing more power and greater payload placement.

This modular solution provides Northrop Grumman with a scalable 300- to 500- kilogram satellite platform for payload and future U.S. government missions.

Airbus USA Space and Defence President and CEO Rob Geckle stated that the SDA Phase One Transportation Layer is a critical national mission program and that they are proud of supporting the Northrop Grumman and Space Development Agency.

Geckle said,” This highlights the importance of Airbus’s mission to develop and deliver technology critical to U.S. fighter aircraft in the U.S.”

By designing a highly compatible spacecraft platform, Airbus USA will use Airbus OneWeb Satellites, a joint venture with OneWeb, to assemble this platform on state-of-the-art production lines.

At this time, this line sends a maximum of two satellites to OneWeb.

To date, this facility has produced more than 400 of the 648 satellites ordered for OneWeb.

Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia and operating under a Private Security Agreement (SSA), Airbus U.S. Space & Defence Inc. offers advanced solutions to meet the most complex U.S. defence, security, space and intelligence requirements.