Viasat Secured $307 Million Marine Corps Satellite Contract
The seven-year agreement enables multi-orbit connectivity for secure data transmission across global operations.
Updated on Sept. 29, 2026 in Telecommunications
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Viasat has been awarded a seven-year, $307 million contract to provide multi-orbit satellite services to the U.S. Marine Corps. This agreement, which includes an initial $42 million task order, aims to bolster bandwidth for multi-domain operations.
Why it matters
The deployment addresses rising data bandwidth requirements for modern military missions that demand reliable connectivity. It facilitates secure data custody across dispersed environments, connecting the tactical edge to the Marine Corps Enterprise Network.
The contract covers satellite services across L, Ku, and Ka-bands to support secure data transmission. Viasat will also deploy network integration hardware and software to manage intelligent network orchestration.
The players
Viasat
A global communications company specializing in multi-orbit satellite systems and secure networking hardware for defense and commercial sectors.
United States Marine Corps
A branch of the U.S. armed forces responsible for expeditionary warfare, now increasingly focused on distributed, data-intensive, multi-domain operations.
The details
Viasat will deliver secure data custody by integrating its satellite architecture with the existing Marine Corps Enterprise Network, the service branch's primary IT infrastructure. The system utilizes intelligent network orchestration—automated software processes that route data traffic based on real-time capacity and security needs—across multiple orbital bands. Support includes managed Network Operations Center and Security Operations Center services to maintain connectivity at the tactical edge.
Timeline
September 23, 2026: Viasat announced the contract award.
September 28, 2026: A Viasat spokesperson provided comments regarding the task order timeline.
The Tech Race
This deal underscores the military-wide shift toward hybrid satellite architectures that switch between orbital bands to maintain persistent links. It represents a significant expansion of Viasat's role in the Marine Corps Enterprise Network, directly competing with traditional single-orbit procurement models.
The transition to multi-orbit connectivity provides the Marine Corps with redundant communication pathways that reduce the risk of link failure during mission-critical operations. The infrastructure changes will be rolled out over the next seven years to unify data handling across distributed command units.
The takeaway
The Marine Corps is prioritizing resilient, multi-band satellite capacity to manage data growth at the tactical edge. Observers should track the issuance of subsequent task orders beyond the initial $42 million award to monitor the pace of infrastructure implementation.
Further reading
For more on evolving standards in military data transmission, see our Telecommunications section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Janes.
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