The SDA call for studies on speeding HBTSS "missile defense capabilities" is interesting, as its wording differs somewhat from language in an earlier solicitation from the Missile Defense Agency for proposals that appears to refer to an HBTSS satellite constellation.
In a new executive order, President Donald Trump ordered the Pentagon to move forward on missile defense, though the details are still thin.
Reducing cognitive overload on warfighters while improving “time to trust” for autonomous systems is a matter of design.
The agency also plans to launch a new, discriminating space sensor around the 2029 timeframe, MDA Director Air Force Lt. Gen. Heath Collins said.
The agencies said in their joint announcement that the "launch of the two prototype systems will be followed by two years of on-orbit testing."
An SDA official explained that the six "preliminary fire control" satellites in Tracking Layer Tranche 2 will carry a mix of wide-field-of-view and medium-field-of-view infrared cameras.
One of MDA's biggest investments in FY24 is for the Next Generation Interceptor, with $2.1 billion requested.
The GPS network continues to prove its unmatched reliability, and it’s only getting stronger.
The two Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor (HBTSS) prototypes will launch in spring 2023, beginning several months of on-orbit testing.
A THAAD system successfully launched a PAC-3 missile segment enhanced at White Sands Missile Range.
A decision about whether to go forward this year with Tracking Layer Tranche 1 or wait until fiscal 2023 funds are available could happen "within the next few weeks," said SDA Director Derek Tournear.
"You really need to worry about the tactical things. You really need to defend your surface ships, air bases, all that stuff," NDIA's Mark Lewis said.
Knowing when to build on commercial systems and when to develop something new can be the difference between parity and information dominance.
Space Development Agency will soon issue a request for proposals for the first 28 of its own missile tracking satellites in Low Earth Orbit, the agency's chief said.
The reorg eliminates the company's Aviation Systems segment, which is responsible commercial aviation solutions, systems, networks and pilot training.
The GPI is being developed to knock down hypersonic missiles as they glide through the Earth's upper atmosphere at about 70 kilometers in altitude at speeds greater than Mach 5.