Space Force awards $615M in deals for second batch of aircraft-tracking satellites
The Space Force has contracted three companies to mature Space-Based Airborne Moving Target Indicator capabilities and broaden the vendor pool that’s developing the technology, the service announced Tuesday.
The three other transaction agreements are worth a combined $615 million and are the second task order the Space Force has given for the SB-AMTI program. According to Space Systems Command, the new contracts are designed to accelerate development of emerging systems, leverage commercial tech and demonstrate novel SB-AMTI capabilities.
Rocket Lab and STR are two of the companies tapped by the Space Force. The third vendor could not be named “due to operational security,” SSC said in a news release.
The new contracts build off the $4.16 billion deal given to SpaceX in May, which tasked the company to develop an initial satellite constellation for the SB-AMTI program. The three additional awards allows the Space Force to expand its vendor pool and capabilities to ensure the service isn’t locked into a single technical solution, according to Col. Ryan Frazier, acting portfolio acquisition executive for space-based sensing and targeting.
“With these new partnerships, we are exploring unique innovations and technologies and fundamentally different ways to accomplish the airborne moving target indication mission,” Frazier said in a statement. “Maturing these varied technical solutions now gives us distinct performance advantages for the future and guarantees we are fielding the absolute best technology available.”
Traditionally, the Air Force has used aircraft to conduct AMTI missions, but those platforms have become increasingly challenged by advancements in enemy anti-access/area-denial capabilities. As a result, the Pentagon has called for a new network of satellites carrying sensors that can continuously detect and follow airborne targets — solving survivability problems and eliminating operational blind spots.
Rather than pursue a single sensor configuration, the new contracts will explore a variety of capabilities and operational concepts that will enable a more diverse and resilient SB-AMTI constellation, according to the Space Force.
“The development and integration of multiple sensing technologies and disciplines is vital for building a highly survivable and adaptable space-based sensing architecture,” the service said in a news release. “Different sensing phenomenologies can also leverage distinct operational advantages across varied environmental conditions, geography, and threat environments.”
Furthermore, the Space Force hopes that adding more companies to the SB-AMTI development will ultimately allow the service to rapidly iterate and pivot the constellation as requirements evolve. The acquisition strategy is also intended to mature manufacturing capabilities while sustaining the competition needed to expand the program over the long term, according to SSC.
“While our initial awards allowed us to rapidly establish a baseline, these new agreements demonstrate our commitment to expanding our partnerships,” Frazier said in a statement. “A resilient space architecture demands a robust, competitive industrial base, and tapping into the broader commercial market is how we get there.”
