Boeing Wins $22.6 Million Boost for Strategic Satellite Program

The Boeing Co. secured a $22.6 million modification on its Evolved Strategic Satellite Communications work, lifting the contract's total value to $2.87 billion, the Space Systems Command said.

First Published: August 6, 2026, 2:06 PM ET

EL SEGUNDO, CALIFORNIA — The Boeing Co., the largest U.S. exporter and a top military space contractor, won a $22.6 million contract modification to advance the Pentagon’s next-generation strategic satellite network, as announced on war.gov.

The cost-plus-fixed-fee modification lifts the contract’s total cumulative value to $2.87 billion from $2.85 billion, according to war.gov. Fiscal 2026 research, development, test and evaluation funds of $22.6 million were obligated at the time of the award for the Evolved Strategic Satellite Communications Space Development and Production program.

The award reinforces Boeing’s role as a system integrator for programs of national significance, spanning satellites, launch systems and defense platforms for military, government and commercial customers, according to Google. The company designs and manufactures airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites and missiles and ranks among the largest global aerospace manufacturers, according to boeing.com.

Work will be performed in El Segundo, California, and is expected to be completed by February 1, 2026, according to war.gov. The Space Systems Command Satellite Communications and Positioning, Navigation and Timing unit at Los Angeles Air Force Base, California, is the contracting activity.

Evolved Strategic Satellite Communications provides hardened, jam-resistant links designed to keep U.S. commanders connected to nuclear forces during a crisis. Continued funding benefits Boeing’s Defense, Space & Security division and the Air Force customers that depend on the network, while the cost-plus structure places the government on the hook for allowable overruns tied to development risk.

Boeing traces its aerospace leadership to 1916, when William Boeing founded the company in Seattle, according to seattlesouthsidechamber.com. The firm supports airlines and allied governments across more than 150 countries and employs more than 55,000 people in Washington state alone, according to seattlesouthsidechamber.com.

For the average U.S. reader, the award represents federal spending on secure military communications rather than a direct change to daily costs or services. The contract funds infrastructure meant to survive attack, not commercial products that reach consumers.

This marks the 33rd contract awarded to Boeing in 2026, bringing the company’s total contract value for the year to $34.87 billion. It is also the 90th Department of Defense contract awarded in California during 2026. The modification is not the largest ever handed to Boeing, whose record stands at $25.36 billion, and it falls within the Air Force’s 2026 portfolio range of $17 to $5.6 billion.

Strategic satellite awards of this kind happen regularly. The Pentagon routinely issues incremental modifications to multiyear development programs as funding is obligated across fiscal years, and this award ranked among 11 Department of Defense contracts issued nationwide on August 6, 2026.

The Space Systems Command will make the next funding decision as development milestones are met, though officials have not announced a date for the next modification.

Boeing’s satellite ambitions stretch back decades, as happened before. The company acquired the satellite business of Hughes Electronics in 2000 and joined the Sea Launch venture in 1995 to loft commercial payloads from floating platforms, according to wikipedia.org. Boeing built satellites and systems for NASA’s International Space Station and the Missile Defense Agency’s Ground-based Midcourse Defense program, cementing a space portfolio that now anchors billions in defense work.

This contract represents the 33rd contract awarded to The Boeing Co., in 2026, bringing the company’s total contract value for the year to $34,870,242,642. It is also the 90th Department of Defense contract awarded in California during 2026. While this is not the largest contract ever awarded to The Boeing Co., whose record stands at $25,357,000,000, it is notable within the Air Force portfolio. Specifically, it falls between the 2026 Air Force portfolio’s year-to-date minimum of $17 and maximum of $5,600,000,000. Overall, this award was announced among 11 Department of Defense contracts issued nationwide on August 6, 2026.