Looks like Rise8 is, well, on the rise. Earlier today, the Tampa-based software delivery startup announced that it won a contract with the US Space Force’s Future Operationally Resilient Ground Evolution (FORGE) program to provide continuous software delivery capabilities.
In layman’s terms, that means the company will help build out the software pipeline that helps the Force track and target missiles. Sounds fun.
FORGEing Ahead: The Future Operationally Resilient Ground Evolution (FORGE) program has been on a bumpy ride since its rollout in 2020.
The project aims to upgrade the Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS), the Space Force’s legacy missile warning system, and integrate it with next-gen platforms. That, however, has proven more difficult than it sounds (and it admittedly sounds pretty difficult).
Let’s take a ride on the FORGE strugglebus:
- 2020: RTX won a $197M contract to build FORGE’s backbone, the Mission Data Processing Application Framework (MDPAF), for both SBIRS and next-gen Overhead Persistent Infrared (OPIR)—infrared sensor-equipped satellites that continuously monitor the Earth from space—systems. Put simply, it would process data from SBIRS, Next-Gen OPIR, and the Missile Track Custody Demonstration (TCD).
- 2023: That proved to be too big a project. In 2023, FORGE was singled out in a GAO report on delays to major weapons programs. The GAO report estimated that FORGE wouldn’t be operational until the end of 2026, so the whole thing was broken up into four parts. In an unsurprising turn of events, the FORGE C2 system is estimated not to be operational until the end of 2028.
- 2024: FORGE was deployed at Buckley Space Force Base, where MDPAF is used to process live OPIR data.
- 2025: The Space Systems Command (SSC) awarded a bunch of contracts for FORGE’s four main hardware and software “thrusts.” Among those were a $151M contract to BAE for a prototype of FORGE C2 software and a $244M contract to Lockheed, Northrop, and Peraton for FORGE’s Relay Ground Stations.
As of now, the project is expected to total $2.4B. Good thing that reconciliation bill containing a big chunk of the Space Force’s $40B budget passed.
Enter Rise8: As you can imagine, a constellation of missile-warning satellites across legacy and next-gen systems produces a ton of data, and that requires a ton of software. That’s where Rise8 comes in.
Put simply, the company’s pitch is that it makes software that makes delivering and integrating new software more efficient. Bit of a Russian doll of software, but bear with us.
In particular, the company specializes in continuous Authority to Operate (cATO), or software that allows government systems to remain secure and operational while being developed, updated, and improved. Given the number of satellites, companies, and various systems involved in the big fat FORGE program, that could come in handy.
The contract: The Space Systems Command (SSC) is putting Rise8’s tech on a three-year “path to production” for FORGE.
According to Rise8, that will:
- Allow third-party firms to integrate software efficiently from development to FORGE operations.
- Scale IL5 (a DoD cloud service system that stores and processes Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) and other mission-critical information) and IL6 (like IL5, but with stricter controls and more classified information).
- Establish “a continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD)” software pipeline with ongoing authorization (i.e. no waiting for cybersecurity approvals for every update)
Rise8 was unable to provide a cost for the contract, but they won another SSC contract in June valued at $19M. So if this is, as they say, their “largest project to date,” we’re guessing that knitting together this patchwork of data cannot come cheap.
“Our approach is centered on delivering scalable capabilities rapidly and securely, ensuring that advanced ground or space-based infrared systems can operate seamlessly while meeting evolving threats,” Rise8 CEO Bryon Kroger said in a statement.
Given how much of a Frankenstein program FORGE has become, Kroger and Rise8 have their work cut out for them.