Pull to refresh
Logo
What Changed
Following Why Sign Up
Defense antenna maker CPI wins multimillion-dollar US ISR contract

Defense antenna maker CPI wins multimillion-dollar US ISR contract

New Capabilities

Undisclosed program adds to a run of Pentagon wins, including a slot on the Missile Defense Agency's $151B SHIELD vehicle

October 13th, 2026: CPI wins US ISR antenna contract

Overview

Updated Oct 30

Communications & Power Industries (CPI), a Texas antenna maker, won a multimillion-dollar award to build a quadband antenna system for an undisclosed U.S. government surveillance program. It is CPI's latest Pentagon win this year.

Two weeks before that announcement, the Naval Research Laboratory awarded CPI's antenna unit about $1.87 million for an antenna control system. The surveillance antenna pairs a four-band radio design with a multi-motor drive on each axis, so one dish can track signals across frequencies.

Why it matters

The win tightens CPI's grip on the niche that builds the antennas behind U.S. military intelligence collection.

Questions about this story

Free account needed to ask — your question is kept and asked for you right after sign-up. Answers are public.

No questions yet — be the first to ask.

Key Indicators

$1.87M
Navy antenna control system award
Sole-source contract from the Naval Research Laboratory to CPI Satcom & Antenna Technologies, awarded September 29, 2026.

Voices

Curated perspectives — historical figures and your fellow readers.

Sign up to generate historical perspectives on this story.

Log in Sign Up

People Involved

Jamie Clark
Jamie Clark
President, Antenna Technologies division, Communications & Power Industries
Leads the CPI unit that builds the antennas behind the ISR and SHIELD contracts

Organizations Involved

CP
Communications & Power Industries (CPI)
Defense technology manufacturer
Awardee of a U.S. government ISR antenna contract; holder of an MDA SHIELD IDIQ slot

Global manufacturer of small, medium and large aperture antennas and components for defense and communications markets.
SA
CPI Satcom & Antenna Technologies Inc.
CPI division
Named awardee on the Missile Defense Agency's SHIELD indefinite-delivery contract

CPI's Antenna Technologies division, based in Kilgore, Texas, and the entity that holds the MDA SHIELD contract.
Missile Defense Agency (MDA)
Missile Defense Agency (MDA)
United States Department of Defense agency
Counterpart on the SHIELD indefinite-delivery contract

The Pentagon agency charged with developing and fielding missile defense systems.

Timeline

March 2015 October 2026

6 events Latest: October 13th, 2026 · 4 weeks ago
Tap a bar to jump to that date

  1. CPI wins US ISR antenna contract

    Latest Contract

    CPI announced a multimillion-dollar award for a quadband antenna system supporting a U.S. government ISR program; the customer is unnamed.

  2. Navy awards CPI $1.87M antenna control system

    Contract

    The Naval Research Laboratory sole-sourced a $1,871,454 antenna control system to CPI Satcom & Antenna Technologies Inc.

  3. CPI gets first order for MOCAT Ultra-Heavy-Duty terminal

    Contract

    A strategic defense provider ordered the ruggedized MOCAT UHD tactical antenna for a U.S. military branch. The terminal is built for electronic warfare use; follow-on orders are expected.

  4. CPI secures MDA SHIELD IDIQ slot

    Contract

    CPI Satcom & Antenna Technologies was named an awardee on the Missile Defense Agency's $151 billion SHIELD indefinite-delivery vehicle. CPI announced the award February 4, 2026; procurement records list the contract as signed in December 2025.

  5. CPI unveils Starfield tactical antenna at Satellite 2026

    Product

    CPI debuted the 2.4-meter Starfield flyaway terminal, which covers L-Band through Ka-Band.

  6. CPI Malibu Division wins GA-ASI ground data link contract

    Contract

    CPI's Malibu Division landed roughly $2.5 million to supply C-band ground antennas for General Atomics' Predator/MQ-9 Reaper fleet.

Scenarios

1

SHIELD task orders convert CPI's IDIQ slot into funded work

Likely Resolves by Oct 13, 2027

Discussed by: Defense procurement trackers following the Missile Defense Agency's SHIELD vehicle (GovConWire, trade press)

The SHIELD award bought CPI access to task orders, not guaranteed revenue. Its near-term missile-defense income depends on MDA issuing funded work orders to awardees. The 2026 ISR contract and SHIELD slot together suggest the government is pulling CPI deeper into both intelligence and missile-defense antenna work.

2

CPI lands follow-on ISR antenna production orders

Possible Resolves by End of 2027

Discussed by: Satellite and defense industry media covering the large-aperture antenna market

If the undisclosed ISR program moves from development into production, CPI would announce additional orders for the antenna family. CPI has a pattern of such announcements; the quadband design is positioned as a model the government could scale across ISR platforms.

3

Rivals win US ISR antenna work as competition intensifies

Possible Resolves by End of 2027

Discussed by: Procurement analysts watching large-aperture antenna awards (SAM.gov, trade press)

CPI is a leading but not sole supplier of large-aperture ISR antennas. Competing antenna makers could take U.S. government ground or ISR system awards, eroding CPI's position. A competitor announcement would signal that the niche is opening up rather than consolidating around CPI.

Historical Context

2 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

March 2015

Predator/Reaper ground data links (2015)

CPI's Malibu Division won about $2.5 million from General Atomics to supply C-band ground data link antennas for the Predator/MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft. The antennas used electronic scanning to track the aircraft and relay imagery between the drone and its ground control station.

Then

Delivered auto-tracking C-band antennas that supported near real-time ISR across combat theaters.

Now

Extended a CPI-General Atomics partnership past a decade and made CPI antennas standard ground infrastructure for Reaper operations.

Why this matters now

Same company, same market. The 2026 contract is the latest in a run of CPI supplying the ground-side antennas where U.S. intelligence data converges.

2020s

The shift to multi-orbit, multi-band SATCOM terminals (2020s)

As low Earth orbit constellations like SpaceX's Starlink expanded, military and government ground terminals moved from single-band, single-orbit dishes toward software-defined designs handling LEO, medium Earth orbit and geostationary links. CPI's Starfield terminal, covering L-Band through Ka-Band across orbits, is a product of this shift.

Then

Multi-orbit, multi-band terminals became the baseline expectation for new tactical ground systems.

Now

One dish now has to serve many frequencies and orbits, pushing antenna makers to integrate RF, motion control and signal processing in a single package.

Why this matters now

The quadband ISR antenna and the Starfield terminal answer the same pressure: a single aperture handling many missions at once.

Sources

(8)
+2
PR Newswire MarketScreener The TechBriefs FedOverwatch TMCnet HigherGov PR Newswire PR Newswire