Mercury Systems, Inc. has signed a production agreement with BlueHalo to support the U.S. Space Force (USSF)’s Satellite Communication Augmentation Resource (SCAR) program.
Within the scope of the agreement, Mercury will provide a field-programmable gate array (FPGA)-based common signal acquisition and digital beamforming solution for BlueHalo’s BADGER system, a multi-band deployable ground communications system that simplifies mission operations through agile and re-configurable beamforming tiles.
“We are proud to provide signal processing technology for the SCAR program that will allow the United States to maintain its strategic advantage in the space domain,” said Ken Hermanny, VP and GM of Signal Technologies at Mercury.
“By leveraging commercial innovation from the Mercury Processing Platform, BlueHalo will deliver this game-changing capability at great speed and scale.”
BlueHalo was awarded the $1.4 billion SCAR contract in 2022 by the Space Rapid Capabilities Office (SpRCO), a direct reporting unit of the USSF. Last Fall, BlueHalo successfully demonstrated target tracking and processing of signals using Multi-band Software Defined Antenna (MSDA) tiles deployed on its BADGER product.
Mercury is currently delivering hardware, based on its Quartz RFSoC and Navigator® Design Suite commercial product offerings, against an initial contract award received from BlueHalo in 2023. Under the new production agreement, finalized in January, Mercury will deliver subsystems for additional BADGERs systems throughout 2024.
“This agreement with Mercury represents the first entrance into high-rate manufacturing for BADGER,” said Jonathan Moneymaker, BlueHalo Chief Executive Officer. “With every milestone for the SCAR program, we’re ensuring our nation will maintain our strategic advantage in space. At each step, Mercury is a trusted partner whose signal processing hardware contributes to the unmatched performance of BADGER.”
