The NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) has awarded SES a contract to provide secure, high-performance, low-latency satellite services using its medium Earth orbit (MEO) constellation, enabling global missions for NATO member governments, agencies, and military organizations.
This contract, known as MEO Global Services (MGS), is a three-year Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) agreement valued at $200 million, with the option for two additional one-year extensions. It marks the first award under the Global Commercially Contracted Satellite Communications Support Partnership (GCC SATCOM SP), established in 2022 by the U.S. and Luxembourg under the NSPA. This partnership signifies a new era of space collaboration within NATO.
MGS will be accessible to all NATO member countries, including the U.S. and Luxembourg, and will support missions via SES’s global managed services network and national sovereign networks, which will soon be deployed under this contract through the O3b mPOWER system.
The O3b mPOWER system, SES’s second-generation MEO constellation, features extensive global ground infrastructure and an open architecture that provides high levels of interoperability, flexibility, and government control. This allows for secure communications and networking solutions, particularly for tactical units.
Luxembourg’s Minister of Defence, Yuriko Backes, highlighted the country’s expertise in satellite communications: “Luxembourg has developed significant satcom expertise, which we are pleased to leverage for the benefit of NATO and its partners. SES’s O3b mPOWER constellation aligns with Luxembourg Defence’s Space Strategy, enabling the transformation of government operations and fostering cooperative projects while ensuring sovereign communications networks.”
NSPA General Manager Stacy Cummings emphasized the importance of this development, saying, “This is a revolutionary step that accelerates government access to cutting-edge satellite technology. The collaboration between industry and governments, along with dual-use technology adoption, is critical for effective global defense and security.”
SES CEO Adel Al-Saleh added, “The NSPA contract facilitates government access to secure, high-performance satellite communications. O3b mPOWER was specifically developed to meet mission-critical connectivity needs, and we are working closely with NATO nations to deliver the necessary performance, reliability, security, and control. We are privileged to start providing this service to governments, including the United States and Luxembourg.”
As more nations join the GCC SATCOM SP, they will also be able to benefit from MGS, which simultaneously supports secure sovereign networks and enables coalition operations among NATO allies.
