CACI International Inc (NYSE: CACI) has been selected to advance to Phase 3 of the U.S. Space Force's Enterprise Space Terminal program, the company announced. The selection represents progress in CACI's Optical Communications Terminal portfolio for space communications capabilities.

During Phase 2 of the program in November 2025, CACI passed critical design review of its EST OCT solution for beyond low Earth orbit missions. In January 2026, the company completed interoperability testing of its EST hardware at Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Lincoln Labs, demonstrating performance for pointing, acquisition, and tracking test cases for beyond LEO missions.

"CACI's progress as a prime contractor on the EST program demonstrates how we deliver innovation at mission speed," said John Mengucci, CACI President and Chief Executive Officer.

In Phase 3, CACI will build a proto-flight terminal using its OCT solution, conduct additional interoperability and performance testing at MIT-LL, and deliver the terminal to the U.S. Space Force for beyond LEO missions.

CACI states it has designed and deployed more than 50 OCTs in low Earth orbit and successfully transmitted data from over 300 million miles away in deep space through the Deep Space Optical Communications program. The company also reports enabling high-definition video and data transmission for the Artemis II moon mission.

CACI is a defense contractor with 27,000 employees providing national security technology and services. The information is based on a company press release.