National Reconnaissance Office Release #11-22

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Sept. 28, 2022

Office of Public Affairs

703-808-1198, media@nro.mil

NRO Announces Commercial Radio Frequency Study Contract Awards

CHANTILLY, Va. – The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) today announced the award of 

six study contracts for commercial radio frequency (RF) remote sensing. Companies receiving 

awards under NRO’s Strategic Commercial Enhancement’s (SCE) Broad Agency 

Announcement (BAA) Framework include Aurora Insight, HawkEye 360, Kleos Space, 

PredaSAR, Spire Global, and Umbra Lab.

“Since the 2019 award of an integration study contract for commercial RF, we’ve seen 

increasing demand for this data source from across the user community,” said Dr. Chris Scolese, 

director of the NRO. “Today’s awards are another great example of NRO’s efforts to innovate on 

all fronts, as we continue to work with our partners in government and the commercial sector to 

find new ways to build capability, agility, capacity, speed, and resilience into everything we do.”

This new BAA focus area will help the NRO better understand the capabilities of multiple 

commercial RF providers to address new intelligence challenges. This is the second focus area 

awarded under the NRO’s new SCE BAA framework, designed to streamline the assessment and 

operationalization of emerging commercial capabilities. The SCE BAA Framework and first 

focus area for commercial radar were released in October 2021, followed by awards in January 

2022 to five commercial radar providers. Similar to the commercial radar focus area, the RF 

focus area was open to both U.S. and foreign-owned U.S. commercial RF providers.

The unclassified, shareable nature of commercial remote sensing data, including RF, makes it a 

valuable source for situational awareness and intelligence sharing among U.S. allies and 

partners. 

“As evidenced by the quality and quantity of commercial data flowing to our partners and allies, 

commercial remote sensing is a mainstay not only for security and intelligence applications but 

also for helping to manage humanitarian crises,” emphasized Pete Muend, director of NRO’s 

Commercial Systems Program Office. “Since the early days of Ukraine crisis, NRO’s 

commercial data providers have been collecting electro-optical and radar imagery as well as 

commercial RF data over the region.”
The BAA and its first two focus areas build on the success of NRO’s earlier studies and 

operational contracts, and create additional opportunities to expand NRO’s commitment to the 

rapid acquisition and integration of commercial space-based data. 

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The NRO is the leader in developing, acquiring, launching, and operating the nation’s 

intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance satellites to secure and expand America’s 

advantage in space. We are building a diversified and resilient architecture of spacecraft and

ground systems designed to meet the challenges of a changing space environment by 

accelerating innovation and leveraging strategic partnerships, backed by a diverse and highly 

skilled workforce. At NRO, we See It, Hear It, Sense It so our nation’s warfighters and

policymakers have decision advantage amid increasing global competition. 

Learn more at NRO.gov.