Northrop Grumman Teams with Inmarsat for Australia’s Future Sovereign Satellite Capability

23 November 2021

Northrop Grumman and Inmarsat to develop an agile, resilient and sovereign satcom (image : Inmarsat)

CANBERRA, Australia – Northrop Grumman Australia (NYSE: NOC) will partner with Inmarsat to develop an agile, resilient and sovereign satellite communications capability to support the future joint force and protect Australia’s strategic interests in response to the JP9102 Australian Defence Satellite Communication System project.

Under JP9102, the two companies will collaborate to deliver an Integrated Control Segment that provides the Commonwealth with flexibility across commercial and military SATCOM networks. The companies have already collaborated to deliver satellite communications capabilities through the HEOsat program, a collaborative program between the Government of Norway, the United States Air Force and Inmarsat, which will deliver broadband services to the Arctic region.

“As an established satellite communications provider to the ADF, we’re proud to partner with Inmarsat and build on our shared history of developing global satellite communications networks,” said Christine Zeitz, general manager, Northrop Grumman Asia Pacific.

“Northrop Grumman is a true pioneer in space, providing world-leading capabilities in space mission and strategic deterrence solutions,” said Frank DeMauro, vice president and general manager, tactical space systems, Northrop Grumman. “We will build on this foundation and our history of collaboration with Inmarsat to deliver a complex and agile network of satellite communications systems, combating emerging threats and supporting the Australian Defence Force (ADF) in the future battlespace.”

“Inmarsat is pleased to be partnering with Northrop Grumman Australia to meet the requirements of the Australian Defence Force,” said Rajeev Suri, chief executive officer of Inmarsat. “Together, we provide the right balance of program delivery track record, access to advanced satellite system technology, protection against evolving threats, and sovereign assurance through long-term delivery for Australia, from Australia. Inmarsat brings highly complementary capabilities to Northrop Grumman’s JP9102 proposal. Both companies have proven delivery capability as demonstrated on current ADF satellite programs.”

Northrop Grumman’s end-to-end space expertise brings strategic capability from SATCOM, control systems, enterprise ground infrastructure and launch systems, backed by a legacy of expertise that began at the dawn of the space age.

(Northrop Grumman)