Space Force begins base network overhaul as cybersecurity demands grow

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Space Force is moving to modernize the computer networks that underpin its operations, awarding new work under a $12.5 billion Air Force-led contract vehicle designed to overhaul aging military infrastructure.

Defense contractor CACI International said in a news release Dec. 31 it was awarded a five-year task order valued at up to $212 million to upgrade network infrastructure at U.S. Space Force bases. The award was made under the Base Infrastructure Modernization, or BIM, contract.

According to the Department of the Air Force, the task order will provide resilient, high-throughput connectivity across all 14 U.S. Space Force bases. “This modernization effort will upgrade both classified and unclassified network infrastructure,” the Air Force said, including the use of zero trust security architectures and support for cloud-based applications.

The Space Force operates bases across the United States, including Patrick Space Force Base in Florida, Buckley Space Force Base in Colorado, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station in Colorado and Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The service also operates an overseas installation, Pituffik Space Base in Greenland.

The BIM program is a 10-year indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity, or IDIQ, contract vehicle. Under the IDIQ model, the government establishes a pool of prequalified vendors and awards work through individual task orders rather than issuing a single, fixed-scope contract. The approach is intended to give the military flexibility to compete work over time as requirements evolve.

CACI is one of 22 vendors selected in 2024 by the Department of the Air Force for the $12.5 billion BIM IDIQ, which is focused on upgrading base network infrastructure across Air Force and Space Force installations worldwide.

The program targets what officials describe as the digital backbone of military bases — the networks that carry data, support command-and-control systems and connect mission-critical applications. Many of those systems were built years ago and were not designed to handle today’s cybersecurity threats, data volumes or cloud-centric operations.

Rather than relying on periodic refresh cycles under traditional government procurement processes, the BIM program uses what the Air Force calls an “enterprise IT as a service” model. Under that approach, contractors are responsible not only for installing new infrastructure but also for sustaining and updating it over time.

The move comes as the Pentagon faces mounting pressure to modernize legacy networks to operate in contested environments, where cyber attacks and electronic disruption are expected early in any conflict. For the Space Force, which operates data-intensive satellite constellations and ground systems, network performance is increasingly tied to operational readiness.

The Air Force has so far awarded BIM task orders to General Dynamics Information Technology and CACI, covering both Air Force and Space Force locations. 

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