Airbus Defense and Space to provide L-band satellite communication (SATCOM) services to support the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM)

Paris, France, 2-7-2014 — /EuropaWire/ — Airbus Defense and Space announced today that it has been awarded a Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) contract to provide L-band satellite communication (SATCOM) services to support the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM).

Awarded through the Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization, the BPA has a ceiling of $32.6 million and a period of performance of one base year plus four option years. Services covered by the BPA include Inmarsat BGAN, FleetBroadband and SwiftBroadband airtime.

“This BPA win for comms-on-the-move (COTM) and comms-on-the-pause (COTP) applications reflects our long-standing commitment to assuring mission success at every level of military operations by delivering the right mix of satellite connectivity services and applications to the US warfighter,” said Ed Spitler, president of Airbus Defense and Space’s government satellite communications in the US. “As a valued distribution partner, Inmarsat congratulates Airbus Defense and Space on its successful bid and looks forward to our continuing support of the evolving on-demand worldwide connectivity requirements of USSOCOM,” said Peter Hadinger, president of Inmarsat’s US government business unit.

USSOCOM is charged with overseeing the various Special Operations Component Commands of the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps. The command is part of the Department of Defense and is the only Unified Combatant Command legislated into being by the US Congress. USSOCOM is headquartered at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida.

Airbus Defense and Space, a trusted provider of commercial and military satellite communications solutions to the US government, is a leading operator of customized and secure end-to-end satellite communications services. The unit delivers a full portfolio of fixed satellite solutions (X-Band, C-Band, Ku-Band and Ka-Band) and mobile satellite solutions (Inmarsat, Thuraya, and Iridium) to the US government and military for their most critical missions. It is also the point of contact in North America for Airbus Defense and Space Skynet satellite-based solutions.

For US government customers, Airbus Defense and Space provides communications services through a one-stop-shop provisioning arrangement. The company’s solutions are cost-effective, secure and scalable with Quality of Service (QoS) that is guaranteed to support the most critical missions including COTM, asset tracking, troop welfare, infrastructure design and operation, and civil security.

Legal Disclaimer

Contracts referenced in this release are held and performed by Astrium Services Government, Inc.

Airbus Defense and Space, Inc.
Airbus Defense and Space, Inc., headquartered in Herndon, Va., offers a broad array of advanced solutions to meet U.S. military and commercial requirements, including fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft, homeland security systems, public safety communications, defense electronics and avionics, and threat detection systems. Airbus Group contributes more than $14 billion to the U.S. economy annually and supports over 225,000 American jobs through its network of suppliers.

About Airbus Defence and Space
Airbus Defence and Space is a division of Airbus Group formed by combining the business activities of Cassidian, Astrium and Airbus Military. The new division is Europe’s number one defence and space enterprise, the second largest space business worldwide and among the top ten global defence enterprises. It employs some 40,000 employees generating revenues of approximately €14 billion per year.