Image: Lockheed Martin
The US defence giant will supply a protected communications payload for a Mitsubishi Electric-built satellite, marking a significant deepening of US-Japan space defence cooperation.
Lockheed Martin has been selected as a mission partner to support Japan’s Next-Generation Defence Satellite Communication System, providing an advanced anti-jamming payload for a military communications satellite contracted to Mitsubishi Electric by Japan’s Ministry of Defence, according to Lockheed Martin.
The announcement underscores growing US-Japan defence integration at a time when both nations are increasingly focused on securing space-based assets against electronic warfare threats posed by strategic competitors in the Indo-Pacific region.
A Protected Payload for a Contested Domain
At the heart of the partnership is a hardened communications payload, developed to resist signal interference and jamming — capabilities that have become central to modern military space architecture as adversaries invest heavily in electronic and directed-energy counter-space systems.
The payload will be engineered and manufactured at Lockheed Martin’s facilities in Colorado before being shipped to Japan, where Mitsubishi Electric will carry out final assembly, integration and testing. That arrangement is notable: it allows Japan to classify the finished satellite as domestically produced, satisfying both industrial policy objectives and defence sovereignty requirements.
Once operational, the satellite will occupy geostationary orbit and succeed Japan’s current X-band defence communications satellite. It will also expand the frequency bands in use, a deliberate design choice intended to accommodate the significant increase in defence communications bandwidth anticipated in the coming decade.
Interoperability with Allied Networks
Beyond protecting Japan’s own communications, the payload has been designed with allied interoperability in mind — a technically and politically significant detail. The ability to share protected satellite communications infrastructure with partner nations is increasingly viewed as a force multiplier within frameworks such as the US-Japan Mutual Defence Treaty and the broader QUAD security grouping.
Jeff Schrader, Vice President for Strategy and Business Development at Lockheed Martin Space, described the collaboration as a reflection of the company’s wider international posture. “With our significant investments in advanced design and manufacturing and a focus on international growth and support of our allies, we’re bringing spacecraft solutions forward quickly to meet the needs of our global customers,” he said.
A Broader Strategic Partnership in the Making
The contract did not emerge in isolation. Lockheed Martin and Mitsubishi Electric had previously signed a Memorandum of Understanding to explore cooperation on geostationary defence communications satellites, laying the commercial and technical groundwork for this award.
Both companies have indicated the relationship is intended to extend beyond this single programme. They are jointly evaluating opportunities to offer similar anti-jamming payloads to other nations across the Asia-Pacific region — positioning the platform as a potential common architecture for allied defence satellite communications in geostationary orbit.
“We’re excited to offer a solution that can be used as a common payload to global partners looking for protected, anti-jamming defence satellite communications in geostationary orbit,” Schrader added.
Strategic Context
Japan has been systematically strengthening its defence posture in recent years, including significant investment in space domain awareness and military communications resilience. The country’s 2022 National Security Strategy explicitly identified space as a contested domain and called for enhanced capabilities to defend satellites from interference and attack.
For Lockheed Martin, the Mitsubishi Electric partnership represents a tangible expansion of its international space defence business at a moment when demand for hardened military satellite infrastructure is rising sharply across allied nations.
Source: Lockheed Martin Press Release
