The U.S Space Force has awarded SpaceX $4.16 billion to help the military track airborne targets using satellites.
The massive contract is under the Space-Based Airborne Moving Target Indicator (SB-AMTI) program, which will add space systems to the U.S. military’s tracking capabilities. SpaceX is the first of nine companies that Space Force has disclosed for the SB-AMTI vendor pool. The other eight companies have yet to be publicly announced.
Space Force announced the SpaceX contract on May 29, stating that the award is for a satellite constellation that can “track and target airborne threats globally.” The idea is that satellites can help with tracking in places where it could be dangerous for aircraft, which the military has long used for airborne tracking capabilities. The service aims to get an SB-AMTI satellite constellation up and running by 2028.
“By focusing these capabilities to the space domain, we are providing the Joint Force with sustained battlespace awareness of contested airspace,” USSF Col. Ryan Frazier, acting Space Force portfolio acquisition executive for SBST, said in a statement. “We are beginning development and integration efforts immediately to meet the program’s rapid deployment milestones and address emerging national security requirements.”
Space Force described the SB-AMTI architecture as a “complex system-of-systems,” which will integrate space-based sensors with fast, secure communication, as well as data processing technologies on the ground.
It says that this program reflects “a rapid and strategic shift” toward a deeper collaboration between the contractors, research labs, and agencies that are collectively known as the government space industrial base.
“Our mission is to deliver a resilient sensing layer that ensures our joint warfighters maintain a decisive information advantage in the air domain — especially in a denied or contested environment,” USSF Col. Frazier said in a separate statement on April 27. Denied or contested environments refer to airspace in which the U.S. military might face anti-aircraft attacks or other forces’ aircraft.
Future sensors
SpaceX’s satellites won’t replace the current airplanes that the military uses to track moving targets. Right now, the two methods are meant to compliment each other.
In the announcement, the Space Force highlighted the need to track airborne targets from space due to “continued challenges as adversaries develop increasingly sophisticated anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) systems.”
A2/AD systems are used to prevent adversaries from entering a specific airspace. If the military moves some airborne target sensing to orbit, then it could reduce the risk to military aircraft that traditionally serve this function in contested regions.
“We are providing continuous oversight where traditional sensors cannot reach to protect their freedom of maneuver,” USSF Col. Frazier said in the April 27 statement.
The Golden Dome missile defense system is one of the Trump Administration’s keystone military initiatives, and these satellites would be expected to help track missiles for the Golden Dome, Reuters reports.
Space Force anticipates that it will issue more awards in the coming year, which will help to expand its diversity of vendors.