RTX BBN wins $11 million Space Force data networking contract
The Air Force Research Laboratory exercised an option raising the Cambridge, Massachusetts, prototype deal to a cumulative $11.5 million, with work due by June 2028.
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS — RTX BBN Technologies Inc.has won an $11 million Space Force contract modification for a data networking prototype (see war.gov).
The Cambridge, Massachusetts, company received a cost-plus-fixed-fee modification, designated P00006, to a previously awarded contract, FA9453-25-C-X055, to exercise an option for a Space Data Networking Experimentation prototype (see war.gov). The modification carries a value of $11 million and brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $11.5 million. Work will be performed in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and is expected to be completed by June 2028.
Fiscal 2026 research, development, test and evaluation Space Force funds in the amount of $1.2 million are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Research Laboratory Space Warfare Directorate at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, is the contracting activity. The award was announced July 7, 2026.
The contract reflects continued investment in space-based communications research as the Space Force expands its experimentation portfolio. Readers may ask what the award means and what happens next: the modification funds further development of the prototype through mid-2028, when the demonstration effort is scheduled to conclude.