{"id":37162,"date":"2023-11-29T17:12:47","date_gmt":"2023-11-29T17:12:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/uncategorized\/2023\/11\/29\/northrop-exit-from-uk-satellite-bid-recasts-big-ticket-skynet-6-race\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T01:03:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T01:03:13","slug":"northrop-exit-from-uk-satellite-bid-recasts-big-ticket-skynet-6-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/space\/2023\/11\/29\/northrop-exit-from-uk-satellite-bid-recasts-big-ticket-skynet-6-race\/","title":{"rendered":"Northrop exit from UK satellite bid recasts big-ticket Skynet 6 race"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

LONDON \u2014 Defense contractors have been given until March next year to submit bids to provide the U.K. military with a new generation of wideband communication satellites<\/a> as part of the Ministry of Defence\u2019s Skynet 6 program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Procurement officials for Skynet 6 released an invitation earlier this month to Airbus Defence and Space, Lockheed Martin and Thales Alenia Space with instructions to respond no later than March 2024, said an industry executive who asked not to be named while discussing internal discussions with the government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The three companies were announced by the MoD as being shortlisted earlier this year after responding to a pre-qualification questionnaire for that segment of the program, known as Skynet Enduring Capability Wideband Satellite System.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The British are in the midst of a competition to build a network of geostationary-orbit, narrow- and wideband communication satellites to replace existing Skynet 5 capabilities, built and operated by Airbus, as part of a wider \u00a36 billion ($7.6 billion) program.<\/p>\n\n\n\t