Luxembourg's SES clarifies ties to US military
A US-based subsidiary serves Pentagon with cybersecurity, satellites
A US Air Force airman sets up a satellite in the Arizona desert during a training exercise in October 2021. © Photo credit: US Defense Department
Luxembourg satellite maker SES is now promoting its previously little-advertised partnership with the US military by changing the name of an American subsidiary on Thursday to reflect its work for the Pentagon.
SES Government Solutions, a wholly-owned subsidiary based outside of Washington DC, has changed its name to SES Space & Defense, the pioneering satellite company said in a press release. The change comes after SES's purchase of another military contractor, DRS Global Enterprise Solutions, took effect in August.
"The company is focused on building, managing and supporting the most advanced satellite network solutions for the U.S. government and Department of Defense," said the company based in the sleepy village of Betzdorf.
The subsidiary performs cybersecurity work for the Pentagon as well as connectivity through SES's satellites operating at differing altitudes above the Earth. It is projected to contribute up to $90 million (€85.4 million) in revenue over the last five months of this year to what SES estimates will be group income of about €1.8 billion for all of 2022, the company said last month.
The acquisition was expected to double the Luxembourg space giant's revenues from the US government, SES said when it announced in March it was buying military contractor DRS for $450 million, a deal that was then worth nearly €410 million.
