Sphinx Defense has secured a contract valued at approximately 287 million US dollars to develop mission planning software for the next generation of strategic communications satellites under the ESS program.
The award covers the design, integration and testing of software tools that will enable operators to plan and manage satellite links for secure, high‑capacity data transfer.
According to the company, the new platform will support advanced features such as automated orbit selection, dynamic bandwidth allocation and interference mitigation, aiming to improve resilience of military and government communications.
The ESS initiative seeks to replace aging satellite constellations with a more flexible architecture that can accommodate evolving threat environments and increased demand for bandwidth.
Sphinx Defense said it will leverage its existing expertise in defense‑grade software engineering and will collaborate with subcontractors specializing in radio frequency systems and cybersecurity.
Work under the contract is expected to begin immediately and run for several years, with milestones tied to software releases, qualification tests and eventual integration onto the satellite buses.