DoD needs near-term, ‘persistent’ INDOPACOM hypersonic missile tracking: CSIS

DoD needs near-term, ‘persistent’ INDOPACOM hypersonic missile tracking: CSIS
DoD needs near-term, ‘persistent’ INDOPACOM hypersonic missile tracking: CSIS

“The key word here is persistence,” study author Masao Dahlgren told Breaking Defense. “How do we get persistence over the regions we care about? That hasn’t been as explicitly put into prior work until now. This report puts into sharp relief.”

There goes my missile: SDA eyes new FOO Fighter missile defense ‘fire control’ sats

There goes my missile: SDA eyes new FOO Fighter missile defense ‘fire control’ sats
There goes my missile: SDA eyes new FOO Fighter missile defense ‘fire control’ sats

The new “Fire-Control On Orbit-Support-To-The-War Fighter (FOO Fighter or F2)” program “will accelerate the ability to provide new fire control options for the tactical users,” an SDA spokesperson told Breaking Defense. But how does it play with MDA programs?

Congressional concern re-emerges on fate of MDA’s hypersonic missile tracking sensors

Congressional concern re-emerges on fate of MDA’s hypersonic missile tracking sensors
Congressional concern re-emerges on fate of MDA’s hypersonic missile tracking sensors

“I am concerned about the transition of HBTSS from the Missile Defense Agency to the Space Development Agency. The apparent shift in strategy to deploy this capability does not reflect the urgency of the hypersonic threats we face,” Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colo., chairman of the House Armed Service’s strategic forces subcommittee, told Breaking Defense.

MDA: Hypersonic missile tracking prototypes on point for 2023 launch

MDA: Hypersonic missile tracking prototypes on point for 2023 launch
MDA: Hypersonic missile tracking prototypes on point for 2023 launch

What happens after the HBTSS prototype demonstrations, however, is yet to be determined, according to MDA and industry officials. 

Next Budget Will Limit Glide Phase Interceptor Contractors: MDA Head

Next Budget Will Limit Glide Phase Interceptor Contractors: MDA Head
Next Budget Will Limit Glide Phase Interceptor Contractors: MDA Head

“We’re gonna down-select … later in the year. Then I have to worry about future budgets, and so that’s what’s really going to throttle” the number of contractors, says MDA Director Vice Adm. Jon Hill.

DoD Launching Experiment For Space-Based Hypersonic Missile Detection

DoD Launching Experiment For Space-Based Hypersonic Missile Detection
DoD Launching Experiment For Space-Based Hypersonic Missile Detection

SDA and MDA need to characterize the Earth’s infrared background — which has “a lot of complex shapes to it, clouds, land and stuff like that” — in order to “pull out the dim signal” of a hypersonic missile, an SDA official explained.

MDA Director Sees New Space Investment

MDA Director Sees New Space Investment
MDA Director Sees New Space Investment

“What we don’t want to do is launch a weapon that then opens a seeker and there’s nothing there, because the target has maneuvered,” Vice Adm. Jon Hill, said. 

SDA Demos Spotlight Tech Hurdles To JADC2 Backbone

SDA Demos Spotlight Tech Hurdles To JADC2 Backbone
SDA Demos Spotlight Tech Hurdles To JADC2 Backbone

Two of the experiments, each involving two satellites, are focused on laser links: one between satellites themselves; the other from satellites to a MQ-9 Reaper drone on the ground.

Costs Of Cruise Missile Defense May Top Benefits, Suggests CBO

Costs Of Cruise Missile Defense May Top Benefits, Suggests CBO
Costs Of Cruise Missile Defense May Top Benefits, Suggests CBO

“We’re not going to be able to defend every acre of North America,” Tom Karako, director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), says bluntly.

Optical Links Key To SDA, MDA Missile Tracking

Optical Links Key To SDA, MDA Missile Tracking
Optical Links Key To SDA, MDA Missile Tracking

“Information gathered up to and through Tracking Layer Tranche 0 will help inform decisions about future tranches, including how many and which types of sensors should be flown to provide the warfighter a complete advanced missile threat solution,” SDA spokeswoman Jennifer Elzea says.

SDA Missile Tracking A ‘Strategic Win’ For L3Harris, SpaceX

SDA Missile Tracking A ‘Strategic Win’ For L3Harris, SpaceX
SDA Missile Tracking A ‘Strategic Win’ For L3Harris, SpaceX

“”Where will the money for this program come from, and will it means less money for the Space Force and all the existing space programs of record?” asks Secure World Foundation’s Brian Weeden.

House Strategic Forces Fences Space Force, SDA, GPS Funds

House Strategic Forces Fences Space Force, SDA, GPS Funds
House Strategic Forces Fences Space Force, SDA, GPS Funds

“The committee is concerned that the SDA is not positioned to execute its mission in an effective manner” and is not “equipped to focus on the many priorities it has set,” the Strategic Forces Subcommittee asserts.