10:20 AM EST, 02/26/2025 (MT Newswires) -- AST SpaceMobile ( ASTS ) said Wednesday it has won a new contract award from the US Space Development Agency valued at around $43 million to continue work on a space-based cellular communications network in low-Earth orbit.

The new contract builds on a preliminary contract award disclosed by AST SpaceMobile ( ASTS ) in February 2024 that it received through an unnamed prime contractor working with the federal government, and follows recent testing of its BlueWalker-3 network, the company said.

The Space Development Agency is expected to accelerate delivery of military satellites and supporting hardware for its Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture, which will use AST SpaceMobile's ( ASTS ) next generation Block 2 BlueBird satellites, the company said.

AST SpaceMobile ( ASTS ) shares were trading nearly 17% higher in recent Wednesday trading.

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