Evolved Strategic SATCOM (ESS)

Evolved Strategic SATCOM (ESS) under the Air Force's Research, Development, Test & Evaluation budget activity, aims to meet strategic communications requirements and capability gaps identified in various studies. The program will design an architecture and functionality in accordance with the United States Strategic Command's signed ESS Concept of Operations and the Joint Requirements Oversight Council's validated Capability Development Document. It will provide space and mission control segments for worldwide and arctic DoD strategic, secure, jam-resistant communications for ground, sea, and air assets. The program also focuses on developing a Ground Resilient Integration & Framework for Operational NC3 (GRIFFON) to support the ESS Space Segment by developing and fielding the ESS Ground Segment and System of Systems Integration.

The specific objectives of the ESS program include investing in technology and demonstrations to enable continued development of a modernized, strategic payload and other key technology prototypes, risk reduction, and space segment design utilizing competitive rapid-prototyping contracts. The program aims to actively manage contractors through prototyping, demonstration, and requirements/criteria needed for contractors to competitively bid on the ESS space segment Build, Integration and Test (I&T) and Delivery follow-on. Additionally, it plans to develop a secure software development framework/pipeline for mission planning applications and ensure ESS alignment with Enterprise Ground System (EGS) through GRIFFON. The program also seeks to establish connectivity with Public Key Management Architecture (PKMA) and cryptographic modernization efforts with the NSA.