BlackSky Technology Inc. has been awarded a significant delivery order by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) for operational monitoring of military and economic facilities worldwide. The contract, valued at over $24 million, falls under the NGA’s Luno A program.
According to a company announcement, this four-year delivery order will leverage BlackSky’s real-time, AI-driven monitoring services to detect changes in activity at various critical locations, including ports, airfields, military installations, and railways. The technology will focus on identifying trends and anomalies in vehicle, aircraft, vessel, railcar, and ground equipment movements. An initial base and surge option award of $2 million has already been received.
Brian O’Toole, BlackSky CEO, emphasized that this Luno A task order builds upon the company’s established success in providing real-time, AI-enabled dynamic monitoring capabilities at scale for U.S. national security. He also mentioned that BlackSky continues to enhance its space-based intelligence system with the upcoming integration of its very high-resolution Gen-3 satellites, promising even more rapid and precise insights.
The Luno A contract, as previously outlined by the NGA, is designed to acquire unclassified commercial geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) derived computer vision and analytic service capabilities. This program, with a total ceiling of up to $290 million over five years, aims to provide national security community users with access to commercial data and analytical services that offer new context for assessments of global economic, environmental, and military activities. BlackSky was selected for the broader Luno A multi-award indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract in October, a move that validates the demand for the company’s real-time, AI-driven monitoring services, according to statements from BlackSky.
The use of artificial intelligence is a key component of the Luno A contract, which also contributes to the development of new products, data, and services. These advancements aim to manage high volumes of data, generate deeper insights, and enhance predictive analytical capabilities. BlackSky’s scalable and cost-effective AI tools enable more frequent and data-intensive broad area search and discovery queries compared to traditional methods. BlackSky currently monitors over 30 million square kilometers of the Earth’s surface for the NGA.
