Stratos announced that it has been awarded a long-term (42 month) US Space and Naval Warfare (SPAWAR) contract valued at up to US$48 million. The contract is to provide INMARSAT-B 64Kbps (High Speed Data) lease services to the US Navy's battlegroups (Carl Vinson, Constellation, Enterprise, George Washington, John F. Kennedy, John C. Stennis, Kitty Hawk, Abraham Lincoln, Nimitz, Theodore Roosevelt, and Harry S. Truman), their associated amphibious readiness groups as well as other US Navy ships supporting US interests world-wide.
The US Navy initially granted the contract to COMSAT. However, Stratos successfully protested the decision and was awarded the contract following the submission of new proposals. The protest decision is still the subject of an appeal pending before the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.