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Space Development Agency
Datalinks and Waveforms Application for Future National Defense Space
Architectures
Request for Information
SDA-SN-23-0002
The Space Development Agency (SDA) seeks U.S. corporation industry feedback on advanced tactical
datalink and waveform maturity, on-going work with other U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) agencies
on datalinks and waveforms, and integrating datalinks and waveforms on future Tranches of the National
Defense Space Architecture (NDSA). This would include risk reduction efforts to support command and
control, sensor to shooter, and tactical satellite communication capabilities. Responses to this RFI will
specifically inform SDA's Transport Layer Tranche 2 Demonstration and Experimentation System
(T2DES) planning in FY2023 for subsequent contract award in FY2024.
Background
SDA is responsible for orchestrating the DOD future threat-driven space architecture and accelerating the
development and fielding of new military space capabilities necessary to ensure U.S. technological and
military advantage in space.
SDA was established in March 2019 to provide fast, responsive, and resilient solutions to national security
space requirements. Its focus is on creating space capability that will provide for the consolidation of the
future NDSA. Tranche 1 (T1) Transport Layer (T1TL) is deemed the Initial Warfighting Capability and
begins launching in FY24 (Sep 2024). This layer will consist of approximately 138 space vehicles (SV)
each hosting various datalinks and waveforms. These payloads are comprised of radios, interfaces,
translators and power units to provide advanced capabilities to the tactical edge. The eventual NDSA will
provide beyond line of sight targeting for time sensitive ground and maritime targets as well as hypersonic
and advanced missile threat warning and tracking. The goal is to make data available to the warfighter
anywhere on the globe "at or ahead of the speed of the threat."
The SDA mission, aligned with the National Defense Strategy (NDS), defines and delivers the Department's
future resilient, threat-driven, and affordable military space architecture for the joint warfighter. With the
NDS and the capability gaps identified in the DOD Space Vision guiding our thinking, SDA will
continuously refine and prioritize activities to ensure U.S. leadership in space.
SDA's mission begins and ends with the warfighter. SDA recognizes that good enough capabilities in the
hands of warfighter sooner may be better than delivering the perfect solution too late. SDA remains mission-
focused and continues to make advances toward delivering the next-generation of capability development
in support of NDSA orbital tactical applications.
This RFI seeks to inform SDA’s roadmap of future datalinks and/or waveforms to guide the integration of
these capabilities into future Tranches. This RFI seeks to align datalink and waveform capabilities for
baselining and/or demonstration in Tranche 2 (initial launch capability beginning September 2026).
