Over just four days in May, SpaceX secured two of the most consequential military space contracts awarded in recent years, bolstering the company’s position as a launch provider and architect of the United States’ space-based warfighting network.
In May, the U.S. Space Force announced contracts worth a combined $6.45 billion for two programs: a constellation of satellites designed to track aircraft and missiles from orbit, and a communications network intended to move military data around the globe at unprecedented speed. Together, the awards underscore a shift in how the Pentagon intends to fight future wars — and how deeply it is relying on Elon Musk’s space company to make the vision a reality.
The larger of the two awards, for $4.16 billion, calls for SpaceX to build the first phase of the Space-Based Airborne Moving Target Indicator program, known as SB-AMTI. The constellation will track aircraft, cruise missiles and other airborne threats from low Earth orbit, providing military commanders with persistent global surveillance.
The contract reflects concern within the military that traditional airborne surveillance platforms, such as the U.S. Air Force’s Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft, could be vulnerable in future conflicts against technologically advanced adversaries.
“The long-standing method of military airborne platforms to track moving targets faces continued challenges as adversaries develop increasingly sophisticated anti-access/area-denial systems,” the Space Force said in announcing the award.
Inside SpaceX’s Starlink satellite factory in Redmond, Washington. YouTube/Polarify
Military planners believe that a dispersed network of satellites can provide broader coverage and greater survivability than a fleet of aircraft operating near hostile territory. The Space Force expects the initial satellite constellation to be operational by 2028.
“By focusing these capabilities to the space domain, we are providing the Joint Force with sustained battlespace awareness of contested airspace,” said Col. Ryan Frazier, the acting Space Force portfolio acquisition executive for space-based sensing and targeting. “We are beginning development and integration efforts immediately to meet the program’s rapid deployment milestones and address emerging national security requirements.”
Just three days earlier, the Space Force had awarded SpaceX a contract for $2.29 billion to build the backbone of what it calls the Space Data Network. The system will consist of an interconnected mesh of satellites designed to transport military data securely and rapidly across the globe.
Officials describe the network as a critical communications layer linking sensors, satellites, weapons systems and military commanders. If successful, it could become the equivalent of an orbital internet for national security operations.
“The SDN Backbone supports the broader SDN, which acts as a core communications layer for the U.S. Space Force warfighting systems, ensuring our sensors and shooters are connected continuously, globally and securely,” Frazier said in the award announcement.
Taken together, the two contracts place SpaceX at the center of two fundamental military functions: sensing and communications. One network will gather information. The other will move it. Both are expected to play crucial roles in future military operations.
The awards also highlight the Pentagon’s expanding use of commercial space technology. Rather than relying exclusively on traditional defense contractors and lengthy procurement cycles, military officials are turning to companies that can rapidly develop, manufacture and launch systems using existing commercial infrastructure.
In both cases, the Space Force used Other Transaction Authority agreements, a contracting tool that allows the government to bypass many of the regulations associated with conventional defense acquisitions. The approach accelerates development and fielding of urgently needed capabilities.
“Our acquisition strategy is designed to foster competition and broaden our industrial base,” said Lt. Col. Jeffrey Fry, the Space Data Network Backbone program manager. “We aren’t trading speed for scale; we are demanding both. By using rapid prototyping and Other Transaction Authorities, we are ensuring our advanced solutions are integrated and delivered to the warfighter as fast as possible.”
For SpaceX, the contracts represent the culmination of years of effort to expand beyond launch services into a major national security contractor. According to The Wall Street Journal newspaper, the government is already SpaceX’s largest single customer, generating roughly $4 billion in revenue for the company in 2025.
SpaceX’s advantage includes its ability to manufacture satellites at scale. Many analysts expect the new military systems to be built on the Starshield platform, the government-focused satellite derived from the SpaceX Starlink broadband constellation.
SpaceX occupies a unique position in the defense marketplace. While established defense giants such as Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman continue to dominate many military space programs, SpaceX offers an alternative based on rapid production, frequent launches and commercial technology adapted for military use, the Journal said.
Some lawmakers and competitors have expressed concern that SpaceX is accumulating too much influence over critical national security infrastructure. Questions about competition have intensified as the company continues to win high-profile military contracts.
Space Force officials insist SpaceX will not become a sole provider. Frazier said the military intends to maintain a diversified supplier base and expand participation from both established defense firms and newer commercial entrants.
“We will not leverage any one single provider,” he said in a Space Force award announcement. “Instead, we are partnering with a highly diversified pool of traditional and non-traditional vendors, each bringing various capabilities to support the SB-AMTI architecture.”
The Pentagon’s vision of future warfare depends on systems operating hundreds of miles above Earth. For decades, military power rested on fleets of aircraft, ships and ground forces. Today, defense planners are building a vast orbital architecture designed to detect threats, relay information and connect combat forces across the globe in near real time.
Emphasizing the need for the rapid deployment, Air Force Secretary Troy Meink testified in May before the Senate Armed Services Committee: “The critical nature of some of these capabilities drove us to push what we can get into production right now.”