Kratos has announced multi-million-dollar satellite ground station orders from multiple international customers for Orbit Communication Systems’ GAIA 100 Tri-Band antenna systems. The announcement, made on 19 August 2026, represents the first disclosed order win for Orbit since Kratos completed its acquisition of the Israeli company in March 2026.
The satellite ground station orders cover both the 5.5-metre and 6.1-metre configurations of the GAIA 100 Tri-Band product family. These ground station antennas are designed to receive satellite data across the S, X and Ka frequency bands, serving Earth observation, New Space and satellite communications applications. Kratos did not disclose the identities of the buyers, the number of systems ordered or the combined order value beyond the multi-million-dollar description.
Kratos Books Satellite Ground Station Orders from Global Customers
The orders mark an early commercial milestone for Orbit Communication Systems under Kratos ownership. Orbit now operates within the Kratos Microwave Electronics Division, headquartered in Jerusalem. The division focuses on satellite communications, tracking and communications-management hardware for airborne, maritime, land and space platforms.
Kratos had outlined at the time of the acquisition that its strategy was to pair its existing microwave and RF subsystem capabilities with Orbit’s established satellite communications and ground station products. These satellite ground station orders arriving five months after the deal closed are the first public sign of that combined offering reaching international customers.
GAIA 100 Supports Multi-Band Satellite Communications
The GAIA 100 family is Orbit’s ground station product line for receiving data from satellites in low Earth orbit, medium Earth orbit and geostationary orbit. The systems provide uninterrupted horizon-to-horizon tracking across full hemispherical coverage.
A key feature of the Tri-Band variant is its Ka-band capability. As Earth observation constellations generate increasingly large data volumes, operators are shifting downlink traffic from the more congested X band into higher Ka frequencies. This shift demands tighter pointing accuracy from ground station antennas. The GAIA 100 uses Orbit’s Auto Track technology to maintain satellite alignment throughout a pass, while an integrated radome protects the antenna components, which Orbit says extends service life and reduces lifecycle maintenance costs.
New GAIA 100 Variant Expands Ground Station Capability
Alongside the satellite ground station orders, Orbit revealed the GAIA 100 Tri-Band 6.1, a new larger-aperture variant designed for higher gain, improved link margins and enhanced Ka-band tracking performance.
Daniel Eshchar, General Manager of Orbit Communication Systems, said in the announcement: “The market is placing increasing emphasis on ground station performance, particularly as satellite operators move toward higher-frequency communications and larger data volumes. The GAIA 100 Tri-Band 6.1 was developed to address these evolving requirements by combining enhanced antenna performance, highly accurate Ka-band tracking and a robust, low-maintenance architecture within a single platform.”
The introduction of the 6.1-metre variant positions the GAIA 100 family to serve a broader range of professional satellite communications infrastructure requirements. The product expansion responds directly to the growing demand that the current satellite ground station orders reflect, as operators worldwide invest in ground station systems capable of handling higher frequencies and greater data throughput from modern satellite constellations.