Space Development Agency (an acquisition arm of Department of Defense) announced on Monday that it had awarded contracts worth nearly $1.8B to three companies in exchange for the next generation military communications network of 26 satellites.

A pair of aerospace giants – Lockheed Martin And Northrop Grumman –Private ventures York SpaceEach satellite will be built for SDA Transport Layer Tranche 1 (T1TL).

Lockheed Martin received $700 million; Northrop Grumman was awarded $692million, York got $382 million.

SDA’s Transport Layer network is the Pentagon’s attempt to create a satellite internet service. This includes companies such as SpaceX’s Starlink, OneWeb, Amazon, TelesatHave been investing in private broadband satellite networks for low-Earth orbit.

However, the Pentagon is looking to establish its own Transport Layer “mesh network”, which it describes as “a resilient and low-latency high-volume information transport communication system.” In order to improve the resilience and flexibility of its network, the Transport Layer is being constructed in “tranches”, with the military utilizing an iterative design using small, affordable satellites.

SDA has awarded Lockheed and York their first Tranche 1 2020 Transport Layer contracts. Each building is responsible for 10 satellites. They are expected to launch this year. Delivery is required for Tranche 1, which was awarded Monday, in 2024.