MIDLAND, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan 16, 2026--
AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (“AST SpaceMobile”) (NASDAQ: ASTS), the company building the first and only space-based cellular broadband network accessible directly by everyday smartphones, designed for both commercial and government applications, today announced that it was awarded a contract for the Missile Defense Agency Scalable Homeland Innovative Enterprise Layered Defense (SHIELD) indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract. This contract encompasses a broad range of work areas that allows for the rapid delivery of innovative capabilities to the warfighter with increased speed and agility.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260116850416/en/
The SHIELD program is part of the broader Golden Dome strategy, focused on building resilient, layered protection against air, missile, space, cyber, and hybrid threats from all operational domains. The selection positions AST SpaceMobile to compete for a wide range of future task orders across research, development, engineering, prototyping, and operations of critical Missile Defense Agency systems that support U.S. national security objectives.
“Being selected as a prime contract awardee for the MDA’s SHIELD program is a major validation of our unique, on-orbit, dual-use technology and our growing capabilities within the defense sector,” said Chris Ivory, Chief Commercial Officer and Head of Government Business of AST SpaceMobile. “Our innovative low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite architecture, featuring the largest commercial phased arrays ever deployed in low Earth orbit, is inherently scalable and resilient. This SHIELD IDIQ contract establishes AST SpaceMobile as an eligible provider to bid directly on future task orders, enabling us to rapidly align our cutting-edge space technology with the critical needs of the Department of War and other U.S. Government entities.”
AST SpaceMobile’s selection as a prime contractor underscores the growing government interest in resilient, dual-use Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) constellations for integrated national defense, including command and control, battle management, and advanced sensing applications. This award highlights the importance of leveraging American innovation and commercial space technology, in alignment with the U.S. Administration's policies. These policies are explicitly focused on enabling, streamlining, and maximizing the use of the commercial space sector for national security, economic growth, and maintaining global leadership, which will ensure the United States maintains a decisive advantage in the defense domain for years to come.
AST SpaceMobile is 95% vertically integrated, with all major manufacturing processes under U.S. control headquartered in Texas. The company operates nearly 500,000 square feet of manufacturing and operations facilities and employs a workforce of nearly 1,800 people supported by a technology platform backed by over 3,800 patent and patent pending claims.
The award was made as part of a list of companies eligible to compete under the program, publicly announced by the U.S. Government on January 15, 2026.
About AST SpaceMobile
AST SpaceMobile is building the first and only global cellular broadband network in space to operate directly with standard, unmodified mobile devices based on our extensive IP and patent portfolio, and designed for both commercial and government applications. Our engineers and space scientists are on a mission to eliminate the connectivity gaps faced by today’s five billion mobile subscribers and finally bring broadband to the billions who remain unconnected. For more information, follow AST SpaceMobile on YouTube, X (Formerly Twitter), LinkedIn and Facebook. Watch this video for an overview of the SpaceMobile mission.
Forward-Looking Statements
This communication contains “forward-looking statements” that are not historical facts, and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results of AST SpaceMobile to differ materially from those expected and projected. These forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the words “believes,” “estimates,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “may,” “will,” “would,” “potential,” “projects,” “predicts,” “continue,” or “should,” or, in each case, their negative or other variations or comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from the expected results. Most of these factors are outside AST SpaceMobile’s control and are difficult to predict.
Factors that could cause such differences include, but are not limited to: (i) expectations regarding AST SpaceMobile’s strategies and future financial performance, including AST’s future business plans or objectives, expected functionality of the SpaceMobile Service, anticipated timing of the launch of the Block 2 BlueBird satellites, anticipated demand and acceptance of mobile satellite services, prospective performance and commercial opportunities and competitors, the timing of obtaining regulatory approvals, ability to finance its research and development activities, commercial partnership acquisition and retention, products and services, pricing, marketing plans, operating expenses, market trends, revenues, liquidity, cash flows and uses of cash, capital expenditures, and AST SpaceMobile’s ability to invest in growth initiatives; (ii) the negotiation of definitive agreements with mobile network operators relating to the SpaceMobile Service that would supersede preliminary agreements and memoranda of understanding and the ability to enter into commercial agreements with other parties or government entities; (iii) the ability of AST SpaceMobile to grow and manage growth profitably and retain its key employees and AST SpaceMobile’s responses to actions of its competitors and its ability to effectively compete; (iv) changes in applicable laws or regulations; (v) the possibility that AST SpaceMobile may be adversely affected by other economic, business, and/or competitive factors; (vi) the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against AST SpaceMobile; and (vii) other risks and uncertainties indicated in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including those in the Risk Factors section of AST SpaceMobile’s Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 3, 2025 and Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on May 12, 2025 and November 10, 2025.
AST SpaceMobile cautions that the foregoing list of factors is not exclusive. AST SpaceMobile cautions readers not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. For information identifying important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements, please refer to the Risk Factors in AST SpaceMobile’s Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 3, 2025 and Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on May 12, 2025 and November 10, 2025. AST SpaceMobile’s securities filings can be accessed on the EDGAR section of the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Except as expressly required by applicable securities law, AST SpaceMobile disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
AST SpaceMobile Awarded Prime Contract Position on U.S. Missile Defense Agency SHIELD Program
