# Protected Tactical Enterprise Service (PTES) — Program Element 1206760SF

**Program element:** 1206760SF  
**Component:** U.S. Space Force  
**Appropriation:** 3620F — RDT&E, Space Force  
**Budget Activity:** 4 — Advanced Component Development & Prototypes  
**Vintage:** President's Budget PB2027  
**Canonical URL:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/1206760SF

## Summary

U.S. Space Force funding ramps 61% to a $155.9M request in FY2027 — the program's peak, before stepping down 43% across the five-year plan. In the FY2027 defense authorization, the House funded it in full; the Senate funded it in full; House appropriators cut 13% (to $135.9M). Boeing leads the industry work.

## Funding profile

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 74.8 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 96.6 |
| FY2027 | Request | 155.9 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 87.1 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 86.1 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 87.7 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 89.4 |

> Estimate types are not summed — the profile mixes actuals, enacted law, the request, and outyear projections.

## Congressional marks (FY2027)

| Stage | Marked ($M) | Change ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| Request | 155.9 | — |
| House NDAA (HASC) | 155.9 | +0.0 |
| Senate NDAA (SASC) | 155.9 | +0.0 |
| House Approps (HAC-D) | 135.9 | −20.0 |

> FY2027 NDAA authorization marks, as of 2026-07-27. Not appropriations or final law.

## Projects (2)

| Project | Title | FY2025 actual | FY2026 enacted | FY2027 request | Move |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 643733 | PTW Over Commercial | 51.3 | 39.4 | 81.9 | +108% |
| 643726 | PTW Over WGS | 23.5 | 57.3 | 74.0 | +29% |

> Projects are the summable leaves: the program element total is their sum, never added to it.

### Project 643733 — PTW Over Commercial

PTW over Commercial (PTWoC) Initial Operational Capability (IOC) is targeted for when Protected Tactical Waveform (PTW) operations are provided to users via a single Joint Hub over one commercial satellite, or International Partner (IP) satellite, including full Mission Management System (MMS) and Key Management System (KMS) support functions. PTWoC is expected to reach Full Operational Capability (FOC) after providing the ability to support geostationary, medium earth or highly inclined orbit PTW satellite communications from nine separate locations and for all equatorial longitudes. Highly inclined orbits are necessary in order to provide SATCOM coverage over the Earth's polar regions. Research, Development, Test & Evaluation funding is required for architecture development, acquisition strategy development, system requirements and system trades analysis, engineering, manufacturing, software development, and test and evaluation of PTES systems and segments. Initial PTWoC efforts are focused on providing additional, cost-effective SATCOM capacity to Joint and Allied warfighters via an international partnership with Luxembourg. Future efforts will focus on enabling Protected Tactical Waveform SATCOM operations over the O3b mPOWER Medium Earth Orbit constellation, as well as over commercial SATCOM constellations in other orbits. This program element may include necessary civilian pay expenses required to manage, execute, and deliver weapon system capability. The use of such program funds would be in addition to the civilian pay expenses budgeted in program elements 1206392SF and 1206398SF.

**Named R-3 performers** (share of this project's FY2027 R-3 total, so they need not reach 100%)**:** CSCO (18.8, 23%).

| Activity (R-2A) | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| PTW Over Commercial - mPower | 50.2 | 8.2 | 18.8 |
| PTW Over Commercial - PTES Upgrades | 1.1 | 31.2 | 63.1 |

> R-2A activities carry the prior, current and budget year only — no five-year plan. Coverage is partial, so count them, never total them.

### Project 643726 — PTW Over WGS

Protected Tactical Waveform (PTW) over Wideband Global Satellite (WGS) Initial Operational Capability (IOC) is expected in FY 2027. IOC will be achieved through Joint Hub (JH) installation at two WGS teleport sites at separate locations, which utilize one WGS satellite, in addition to nominal operations using the PTES Mission Management System (MMS) and Key Management System (KMS). Full Operational Capability (FOC) is projected for FY 2028, at which time PTES will provide worldwide PTW operations using JHs installed in at least eight different WGS teleport sites and utilizing ten WGS satellites. Research, Development, Test & Evaluation funding is required for continued architecture development, software development, and test and evaluation of PTES systems and segments. This program element may include necessary civilian pay expenses required to manage, execute, and deliver weapon system capability. The use of such program funds would be in addition to the civilian pay expenses budgeted in program elements 1206392SF and 1206398SF.

**Named R-3 performers** (share of this project's FY2027 R-3 total, so they need not reach 100%)**:** Boeing (58.4, 79%).

| Activity (R-2A) | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| PTES Prototype Ground and Software Development | 15.5 | 34.0 | 58.4 |
| PTES System Development Baseline, Integration, and Test | 8.0 | 23.2 | 15.6 |

> R-2A activities carry the prior, current and budget year only — no five-year plan. Coverage is partial, so count them, never total them.

## Where the FY2027 request goes

| Category | Share | $M |
|---|---|---|
| Industry primes | 50% | 77.2 |
| Other / unspecified | 50% | 78.7 |

**Top named industry performers:** Boeing ($58.4M, 37%), CSCO ($18.8M, 12%).

> R-3 exhibit contract funding, not USAspending obligations.

## Mission & acquisition strategy

USSF is developing the Protected Tactical Enterprise Service (PTES) ground system for the United States and Allies within the mission area of Satellite Communications. As a result, the Service will improve battle management of all weapon systems, improve readiness and operational reach of existing force structure, augment, supplement, and/or integrate Allies, partners, and commercial space to USSF units, and improve resilience of infrastructure, equipment, and personnel. The global threat of electronic warfare attacks against space systems will expand in the coming years in both number and types of weapons.

USSF is developing the PTS Family of Systems (FoS) in an evolutionary manner to introduce Protected Tactical Waveform (PTW) capabilities providing anti-jam (AJ) communications via military and commercial satellite systems for tactical users in all Services, initially providing service over the existing military Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) system and then adding commercial and purpose-built Protected Tactical SATCOM satellites. The PTES Program was designated initially as a Rapid Prototyping effort in June 2018 from the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2016 (Public Law 114-92) under Middle Tier of Acquisitions (MTA) for Rapid Prototyping/ Rapid Fielding (Section 804) to kick off the design, development, integration and testing with PTW service via WGS.

## Related program elements

- [1206433SF — WGS Space Systems Resiliency Upgrade](https://hitchintel.com/programs/1206433SF) (Space Force)
- [0304260F — Airborne SIGINT Enterprise](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0304260F) (Air Force)
- [1203156SF — Data Transport and Networking](https://hitchintel.com/programs/1203156SF) (Space Force)
- [0303142A — SATCOM Ground Environment (SPACE)](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0303142A) (Army)

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Department of the Air Force RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibits R-2/R-3, PE 1206760SF (PB PB2027); FY2027 NDAA committee marks (as of 2026-07-27).
- **MCP:** `mcp.hitchintel.com` — `budget_get_program_element(pe="1206760SF")`.

*HitchAI is an independent intelligence service, not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Defense. Budget figures are requests/estimates, not obligations.*