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SDA Launches 21 Tranche 1 Satellites To Start Space-Based Link 16

SDA expects to open the Link 16 service to early users within four to six months.

Varda's W-3 capsule after landing in South Australia on May 13, 2025. Photo: Varda Space Industries
Artist rendering of the future Columbia-class nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarine (SSBN), which will replace the Ohio-class submarines. (Illustration: U.S. Navy)
An M1A2 main battle tank assigned to 1st Battalion, 35nd Armored Regiment breaches obstacles during AWA 17.1 at Fort Bliss on Oct. 21, 2016. (U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Frederick Poirier, 55th Combat Camera)
An MQ-4C Triton Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) assigned to Unmanned Patrol Squadron 19 (VUP-19), taxis after landing on Andersen Air Force Base. VUP-19 will operate and maintain aircraft in Guam as part of the MQ-4C’s initial operational capability (IOC) in the aircraft’s second deployment after returning to Guam in mid-September 2024. (Photo: U.S. Navy)

Overview

  • SpaceX launched 21 York Space Systems Tranche 1 Transport Layer satellites from Vandenberg into low Earth orbit for the Space Development Agency’s Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture.
  • SDA’s acting director said warfighter immersion and early adopter use should begin in four to six months, with combined Transport and Tracking Layers expected to provide operational utility by 2027.
  • Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George said the service will receive four M1E3 Abrams tank prototypes in 2026, accelerating earlier timelines.
  • AeroVironment reported a nearly $240 million order from an undisclosed customer to deploy new space long-haul laser communications terminals on orbit.
  • A Pentagon inspector general report found the Navy declared MQ-4C Triton initial operational capability despite unresolved deficiencies that could prevent mission success.