Telesat Government Solutions, a wholly owned U.S. subsidiary of Telesat in Canada, has secured a strategic foothold in one of the Pentagon’s largest defense programs, earning a spot on the U.S. Missile Defense Agency’s (MDA) $1.51 billion “SHIELD” contract.
The award positions Telesat’s upcoming Lightspeed Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite constellation as a potential supplier its high-speed communications solution in contested military environments.
The MDA SHIELD program is part of the broader Golden Dome missile defence strategy.
The 10-year Indefinite-Delivery/Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) contract, known as Scalable Homeland Innovative Enterprise Layered Defense (SHIELD), allows the MDA to bypass traditional slow-moving procurement. For Telesat, the win validates their LEO architecture as a viable alternative to traditional geostationary satellites, providing the low latency and “network assurance” the DOD requires to track and intercept modern hypersonic and ballistic threats.
Chuck Cynamon, President of Telesat Government Solutions said, “The resilient architecture, deterministic performance and advanced security of Telesat Lightspeed will provide the network assurance and flexibility that the Department of War needs for strategic advantage in a congested and contested battlespace. Selection for this ambitious contract is a recognition of our technology, talent and experience delivering mission-critical service to space and defense organizations worldwide.”
Earlier this year, MDA Space was as added to the MDA SHIELD program.