WASHINGTON — The U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) announced July 2 it has awarded over $70 million in contracts to commercial satellite imagery and analytics firms as part of its Luno program, a new initiative aimed at expanding the integration of artificial intelligence and commercial data into national security operations.
Structured as Luno A and Luno B, the five-year, indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contracts carry a combined ceiling of $490 million. Luno A focuses on acquiring commercial analytic services that leverage computer vision and machine learning for monitoring physical assets, while Luno B targets the integration of commercial AI tools into NGA’s analytic workflows.
IDIQ is a government contracting method that provides flexibility in both timing and quantity of services, allowing NGA to issue task orders as needs arise over the five-year contract period.
In September 2024, NGA selected 10 companies to compete for up to $290 million in Luno A task orders, and a separate group of 13 vendors for Luno B, which is capped at $200 million. Since then, six contracts have been issued under both tracks.
Among the largest awards, BlackSky secured a $24.4 million Luno A contract for facility and object monitoring. The task covers the surveillance of aircraft, ships, ground equipment, railcars, and tracking changes at strategic sites using AI-enhanced analytics.
Maxar Intelligence received a $3.5 million order for similar object monitoring capabilities. Electromagnetic Systems, a lesser-known entrant in the defense analytics space, was awarded $3.6 million for a “feature ID” project, details of which were not disclosed.
Ursa Space Systems has won two awards. The first, worth $13.8 million, supports a “global awareness tracker.” The second, under Luno B, is a $21 million contract to develop automated models to detect, identify, and analyze object movement and changes using commercial sources—critical for broad-based domain awareness.
Under Luno B, NV5 Geospatial secured a $4.5 million task order to deliver foundational human geography data, focusing on mapping global demographic, infrastructure, and societal conditions.
“This effort is a key part of NGA’s strategy to leverage this vital source for our mission partners, providing key insights and actionable, shareable intelligence,” Devin Brande, director of commercial operations at NGA, said in a statement.
The NGA, an intelligence agency that supports the Department of Defense, collects, analyzes and distributes geospatial intelligence to agencies across the federal government.