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WASHINGTON — The U.S. military is poised to award an estimated $3 billion multi-year contract for commercial data and analytics services to monitor potential threats across the Indo-Pacific region, a focal point of global geopolitics and a priority theater for the Department of Defense.
The program, known as Long-Range Enterprise Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Activity (LEIA), seeks to procure a wide spectrum of commercial data and advanced AI-driven analytics, integrating information from ground, aerial, and space-based platforms.
The LEIA contract is expected to be awarded later this year. It is a full and open competition and several firms are expected to compete for the award..
The program is coordinated by the Special Operations Command Pacific that supports U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM).
The size of the contract reflects the U.S. military’s growing demand for commercial sources of data such as imaging satellites and AI-driven analytics to track and respond to potential threats. U.S. INDOPACOM in the LEIA solicitation emphasized commanders’ needs for timely ISR and space-based capabilities to maintain situational awareness in the region.
The military’s appetite for AI-powered data analytics stems from the challenge of information overload, as government agencies have increasing access to data but not necessarily insights. The U.S. Space Force in response to these needs started a pilot program called Tactical Surveillance, Reconnaissance and Tracking (TacSRT) designed to leverage commercial space capabilities for providing rapid intelligence and analytics to military commanders. The program uses a web-based interface called the Global Data Marketplace to advertise and award short-term surveillance, reconnaissance, and tracking contracts with commercial vendors.
The TacSRT program has already supported various U.S. combatant command operations responding to earthquakes in Morocco and Japan, floods in Libya and wildfires in South America.
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