BlackSky Technology Inc. (NYSE: BKSY) received a contract modification from the National Reconnaissance Office to accelerate development of its AROS broad area collection satellites. The modification funds development of a multi-spectral, large-area mapping spacecraft and foundation data collection system targeted for 2028.

The AROS satellites will be designed to support country-scale digital mapping, navigation, maritime situational awareness and 3D digital twin applications. The system will operate as an extension of BlackSky's existing satellite fleet, incorporating the company's space, software and platform technologies.

"Developing BlackSky's AROS constellation in partnership with the U.S. government cements a major step in securing U.S. global space competitiveness, resilience and maintaining critical operational continuity as commercially available foundation data becomes capacity-constrained in the coming years," said Brian O'Toole, BlackSky CEO.

The satellites will utilize BlackSky's Gen-3 architecture and manufacturing infrastructure. Once operational, AROS and Gen-3 satellites will work together in a tip-and-cue workflow where large-area surveillance identifies activity that drives dynamic point monitoring at national and regional scale.

The system will include AI-enabled analytics to detect and characterize aircraft, vessels and vehicles, providing decision makers with real-time insights over broad geographic areas. The AROS foundation enterprise is expected to support automated feature extraction and generation of Earth digital twin systems.

BlackSky operates a commercial real-time intelligence system that combines its Spectra tasking and analytics software platform with a proprietary low Earth orbit satellite constellation. The company is headquartered in Herndon, Virginia.