Kleos Space Inc. (a space-powered Radio Frequency Reconnaissance Data-as-a-Service (DaaS) and Mission-as-a-Service (MaaS) provider) has been awarded a first stage contract by the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) as part of the Strategic Commercial Enhancements Broad Agency Announcement (SCE BAA) Framework.
The NRO is responsible for maintaining global vigilance in times of peace and war. The agency develops, acquires, launches, and operates innovative space-based surveillance and reconnaissance systems that collect and deliver intelligence to enhance U.S. national security.
After a multiple-phase proposal process, Kleos was awarded the first stage contract under the NRO’s SCE BAA Framework, focused on the analysis, modeling, and simulation of Kleos’ capabilities to support the U.S. Government’s current and future commercial radio frequency (RF) reconnaissance needs. The NRO’s SCE framework continuously evaluates new and emerging capabilities and providers.
Under the project, Kleos will provide insights into how to optimize evolving commercial RF geolocation capability to enhance and augment existing capabilities in a persistent, resilient, cost-effective manner that is also easily shareable across the U.S. Government, and with international partners and allies.
Follow-on stages will emphasize tasking, data collection and direct delivery of data to end-users. This contract will allow Kleos to support the U.S. Government Defense, Intelligence, and Law enforcement missions, thanks to the integration of its data within the NRO’s capabilities.
Kleos’ Chief Revenue Officer, Eric von Eckartsberg, said, “We are very proud to receive this contract with the NRO, and to start our projected journey to growth with RF Earth Observation data, which imagery companies have been enjoying for many years. This study project represents a significant opportunity for Kleos to help the NRO assess the operational and decision-making usefulness of commercial RF GEOINT and understanding how our unique data set can be leveraged and fused with NRO’s operational capabilities through a combination of modeling and simulation, and analysis of collected data from our growing constellation of satellite clusters. Our four satellites per cluster constellation has significant operational benefits, including increased resilience and risk reduction compared to systems with fewer satellites. It enables us to collect additional radio frequencies within each band and accurately detect transmissions even when the tracking or positional system has been disabled or turned off. Our independent intelligence data can be used to validate or tip and cue other commercial datasets to enhance situational awareness.”
Kleos is a space-enabled radio frequency (RF) Reconnaissance data-as-a-service company with operations in Luxembourg, the U.S., and the U.K. Kleos locates radio transmissions in key areas of interest around the globe, efficiently uncovering data points to expose human activity on land and sea. Using clusters of four satellites, proprietary RF data is collected, transmitted to the ground, processed, and delivered to customers worldwide. Customers, including analytics and intelligence entities, will license data on a Data-as-a-Service (DaaS) subscription basis for government and commercial use cases – aiding better and faster decision making. Kleos’ first satellite cluster, the Scouting Mission (KSM), successfully launched in November 2020, is performing as a test and technology demonstration whilst collecting data. The company’s second satellite cluster, the Vigilance Mission, successfully launched in June 2021, and its Patrol Mission launched in April 2022. Kleos’ fourth cluster, the Observer Mission, is targeted for a 2022 launch. These satellite clusters form the foundation of a global high-capacity constellation of up to 20 satellite clusters, which will deliver high value global observation.
